Registration of intellectual property rights
We will carefully examine your ideas and developments with you to identify aspects worthy of protection. We will then present you with a strategy for optimalprotection.
For patent and utility model applications as technical intellectual property rights, we prepare the application comprising the claims, the description and the associated computer-aided drawings.
A prior art search provides clarity regarding the novelty and inventive step of your invention.
We will also represent you with dedication in the event of infringements of your intellectual property rights, oppositions or invalidity proceedings.
For design applications, we are able to create computer-aided representations of the design, including in 3D. Naturally, searches regarding prior design rights can also be carried out.
For trade mark applications, we first check whether the trade mark meets the criteria for registration. As a matter of course, a search for prior rights is carried out to prevent disputes as far as possible.
The list of goods is drawn up in consultation with you. We are also happy to represent you in opposition proceedings.
From the initial idea through the preparation of the application documents to the grant of a property right, we support you as a reliable partner. We also represent you in opposition, appeal, invalidity or infringement proceedings.
Our range of services encompasses not only comprehensive advice on German intellectual property rights; rather, our core competence also lies in securing intellectual property rights abroad, whether regionally via the European Patent Office, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), or internationally via WIPO in Geneva, as well as nationally via correspondent lawyers in the individual countries.
Furthermore, we draft contracts for you, in particular licence agreements, priority and coexistence agreements, and confidentiality agreements. Our range of services also includes the translation of intellectual property rights, advice regarding the Employee Inventions Act, fee monitoring, expert opinions, and monitoring of third-party intellectual property rights.
Industrial Property Rights
A common feature of all industrial property rights is that their owners have the right to prevent third parties from infringing them. A granted or registered industrial property right does not imply exclusive use, as the technical solution may infringe other industrial property rights or depend on them. Any use not authorised by the patent holder is prohibited. Should any acts of infringement come to light, the holder of the industrial property right may assert claims for an injunction and damages.
Patents
Patents are intellectual property rights that are examined by national and/or international patent offices and granted for a limited period. In Germany and many other major industrialised nations, the maximum term of protection is 20 years. It is not the idea or the problem itself that can be patented, but only the specific solution to the problem achieved by technical means. These ‘technical means’ may take the form of devices and/or processes. Patents enjoy state-guaranteed protection in almost every country in the world. To simplify matters, there are standardised procedures for European and international applications before the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich or The Hague, or before the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) in Geneva. It has recently become possible to apply for unitary protection for a large number of European countries from a single European patent, the legal validity of which can be uniformly adjudicated before the Unified Patent Court.
>> Find out more here about the unitary patent and the Unified Patent Court (UPC)
Utility models
In contrast to patents, utility models are unexamined intellectual property rights that are simply registered with the patent offices. This enables rapid protection for the registered invention. The maximum term of protection is 10 years. Utility model protection is available only for devices, not for processes. The requirements for novelty and inventive step are somewhat lower than for patents. This special form of technically oriented intellectual property right does not exist in all countries. Consequently, there is no uniform European or global application procedure.
Trade marks
Trademarks and other similar signs (e.g. geographical origin indications) serve to identify and communicate goods and services, or to associate them with a company, and are mainly used in marketing. In addition to word marks, figurative marks, combined marks, colour marks and position marks, there are other special forms of trademarks. Application and registration are also possible at national (e.g. in Germany), regional (e.g. in the EU) or limited international (e.g. as an IR trademark) level. To apply for a trademark, it is necessary to draw up a list of goods and services that defines the scope of protection of the trademark.
Designs or industrial designs
A design or registered design is a type of intellectual property right that protects the aesthetic appearance of an object and can serve as a useful complement to the protection of a product that is already comprehensively protected by patents, designs and trade marks. Design protection can be supplemented by a three-dimensional trade mark or a form mark.
Funding opportunities
For small businesses companies, individual applicants and SMEs, there are various funding opportunities available to cover at least a proportion of the official fees for filing, searching, examination, designation of countries, grant and annual fees. Some funding schemes are time-limited or subject to budgetary constraints.
We can provide you with further information on request.