What a patent can do
The patent is the best known and most frequently used technical property right:
- For a period of up to 20 years from the date of application, a patent offers its owner a prohibition right against third parties within the scope of the respective law.
- In the event of a patent infringement, the claims arising from a patent include
- Cease and desist of patent infringement for the future, possibly enforceable by means of an injunction;
- Compensation for past patent infringement, e.g. in the form of lost own profit, the surrender of the infringer's profit or in the amount of a fictitious license to the subject matter of the patent;
- Confiscation and destruction of the infringing products and, if applicable, their manufacturing equipment (e.g. machines, molds and tools, etc.);
- Information on the origin and distribution channels of the infringing products.
- A patent is an asset in its own right and can be licensed or sold.
- A patent serves as proof of your own innovative strength on the market and can be an instrument for external presentation and marketing.
- A patent can be obtained as a national right in most countries. Based on a first patent application, which is usually national, subsequent applications can be filed in other countries, usually via the international uniform application procedure (PCT) or in the member states of the European Patent Convention (EPC) via a uniform grant procedure as well as via national patent applications abroad via local patent attorneys as foreign associates.
What can be protected by a patent
The protection of a patent is determined by the wording of the claims:
Technical objects and processes
including the products directly manufactured with them, e.g. machines, devices, circuits, appliances and their parts.
Process for the manufacture of products
as well as working and application procedures.
Chemical products
e.g. plastic granulates, artificial fertilizers or pharmaceuticals.
Microbiological processes
and their application.
By law, at least in Germany, discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods, plans, rules and procedures for mental activities, for games or for business activities, as well as programs for data processing systems and the reproduction of information, for example, cannot be protected by patent law if protection is sought as such.
What does the path to obtainingpatent protection look like
The process for obtaining a patent, from the idea to the granting of the patent, can be outlined as follows:
A patent attorney is responsible for carrying out all of these procedural steps and providing advice on them.
In the case of a patent application and a patent, it should be noted that – at least for Germany – official fees are payable annually from the third year onwards in order to extend the patent application or patent for a further year. These official fees are known as annuity fees and increase over the years.