In addition to the patent, there is another technical property right, the utility model, which in the past was also referred to as a “small patent”. The utility model enables protection of technical inventions that are new, industrially applicable and based on an inventive step for a maximum protection period of 10 years. Methods are…
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Unlike in the European Union, there are various countries, such as the United States, that have a grace period for patents, i.e., a period during which an inventor can make the invention public without this disclosure getting in the way of a subsequent filing of a patent application. In the United States, the grace period…
Further readingWhen a German patent application is filed with the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA), a request for examination is usually filed immediately in order to initiate the examination procedure. As a rule, the applicant then receives the first office communication approximately eight to nine months after the filing date. This procedure is particularly useful…
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On June 10, 2021, the German Federal Cabinet approved the draft of a second law for the “simplification and modernization” of patent law. Among other things, the bill provides for an amendment to Section 139 of the Patent Act, which governs the right to injunctive relief by the patent proprietor in the event of patent…
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The Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) has commented on this in its decision T 844/18 (Crispr/Cas) and continues its previous line: For an effective claim of priority of an earlier application (with several applicants) by only some of the applicants of this earlier application in the form of a subsequent application,…
Further readingOn April 26, 2019, the German Act on the Protection of Trade Secrets (GeschGehG) came into force. The law is based on the EU know-how Directive 2016/943 of 08.06.2016. The law strengthens the protection of trade secrets. A very important innovation, however, is that “appropriate secrecy measures” must be taken to ensure that know-how actually…
Further readingIn its decision G 3/19 “Pepper” of 14 May 2020, the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office decided that European patents will no longer be granted on plants and animals exclusively obtained by means of an essentially biological process (such as breeding and crossing). This is a remarkable departure from its own…
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The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU (Brexit) took place on 31 January 2020, which in part has implications on property rights. Patents With regard to European patents, nothing changes, since the United Kingdom remains a member of the European Patent Convention, which is not Union law but an international treaty to which, for example,…
Further readingThe European Unitary Patent is intended to save effort, time and money for inventors and companies when applying for and enforcing patents in Europe. Part of the reform of patents in Europe is an international court, the European Unified Patent Court (UPC), which as a common court of the majority of member states decides disputes…
Further readingWith the WIPANO funding measure, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi) offers small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) support in the patenting and exploitation of their innovative ideas by reimbursing the costs of patent consultation and registration in the form of a subsequent grant of 50% of the costs incurred. The grant is divided…
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