Patents

A Patent protects technical inventions from imitation.
To become a Patent, the invention disclosed in a patent application has to be novel, based on an inventive step and of commercial use.
The application is filed with the competent office. It has to contain information about the inventor, the applicant and the invention in form of a description and claims.

It is of uttermost importance to thoroughly formulate the description and claims to guarantee that the inventor obtains the best possible protection for his invention.

Duration:
The German Patent is valid for 20 years, starting from the filing day and dependent on paying an annuity fee.

European Patent
A European Patent is bundle of national Patents, applied for with and granted centrally by the European Patent Office in Munich. After grant, each national part of the European Patent becomes independent from the other parts. It may be licensed, sold, kept in force or abandoned.

International Patent Application (PCT)
A PCT-Application is a bundle of national and regional patent applications, valid in more than 130 states worldwide. By filing a PCT-Application, the applicant gets the possibility to postpone his final decision about proceeding with a certain national patent application up to 31 months. During the PCT-Proceedings, the application will be checked for formal compliance and a search for state of the art will be conducted.