Property rights
Industrial property rights:
The German legal system provides various options for protecting the economic value of intellectual property, depending on the type. The property right to be used depends on the respective object, product or idea to be protected.
The following intellectual property rights exist:
Technical property rights:
Patents (products, (manufacturing) processes, applications (of chemical substances)):
A patent is an industrial property right for an invention. To obtain a patent, a patent application must be submitted to the relevant national/regional patent office. For Germany: DPMA or EPO.
The owner of a granted patent is authorised to prohibit others from using the invention during the term of the patent. The maximum term of a patent is 20 years from the day after the application is filed. For inventions that can only be commercially exploited after extensive authorisation procedures (especially clinical trials for medicinal products), a supplementary protection certificate can be granted if necessary, which then extends the patent term by a maximum of five years. In the case of a patent application, the state of the art must be determined in advance. This is important when assessing whether an invention is new and therefore patentable.
According to the European Patent Convention (EPC), everything that has been made available to the public by means of a written or oral description, by use or in any other way prior to the filing date of the European patent application constitutes prior art.
The German Patent Act (PatG) states:
"An invention shall be deemed to be new if it does not form part of the state of the art. The state of the art comprises all knowledge which has been made available to the public by written or oral description, by use or in any other way before the date relevant for the priority of the application."
A good search is therefore important in advance!
Utility model (products):
The utility model is also known as a "petty patent". It is a genuine invention protection right that is not inferior to the patent in terms of its protective effects. As only a formal examination takes place when a utility model is applied for, it can be acquired quickly, easily and inexpensively. This makes it attractive in practice.
Protection for utility models lasts for three years. It can be extended once for three years and then twice for a further two years. The maximum term of protection is 10 years.
Further details are regulated in the Utility Model Act.
Semiconductor Protection Act (three-dimensional structures (topographies) of semiconductor products)
Plant Variety Protection Act (plant varieties)
Non-technical property rights:
Copyright © (written works (of literature and science), speeches, computer programmes, music, photographs, films, works of art, plans, maps, etc.)
Design patents (design)
Trade marks ® ™ (trade marks and other signs, business names, geographical indications):
A trademark is an industrial property right and is regulated by the German Trademark Act (MarkenG). A trade mark serves to identify goods and services in order to achieve a clear distinction from other manufacturers.
Trade mark protection ends ten years after the end of the month in which the application date falls. Thereafter, a trade mark can be renewed as often as required for ten years by paying a renewal fee.
However, a trade mark can be lost despite a successful extension of protection due to the obligation to use it. The Trade Mark Act stipulates that the trade mark must be used for business purposes within five years of the application date; if this is not done, trade mark protection is no longer valid.
