PATENT APPLICATION (national/international)
In order to protect your inventions, you have the opportunity to apply for a patent. You have probably also found your way to us for this reason. Here, regulations must be adhered to, which are optimally evaluated and applied by an expert. The Patent is one of the best-known intellectual Schutzrechte – nationally as well as internationally. To that end, we are happy to offer an initial assessment in a first personal and free-of-charge consultation. You can find further information about this in the following sections.
Invention
What exactly is an invention and at what point does it make sense to deal with patenting? An important question, as your competitors are likewise constantly occupied with the development of new inventions or innovations and watches the market. Unprotected ideas can very quickly be copied or brought onto the market in similar function / outfitting by the competitors, here a patent attorney with the corresponding expertise can very quickly render a first verdict and advise. But at what point does something count as an invention? An invention is, strictly speaking, a new finding, which previously was not in existence. According to the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (citation) “An invention uses technology to solve a specific problem”. The technical features of an invention have a function through which the problem – the purpose of the invention – is solved. The technical character necessary for patenting requires that the laws of nature are used to achieve the objective. Here, the invention can be a product or a process.” There can, however, also be inventions in the field of culture.
Application
Should the invention now be secured via a patent application, an examination occurs with respect to the presumed subject-matter by the Patent Office (DPMA or EPO). § 1 of the Patent Act stipulates with prerequisites are hereby to be fulfilled, thus the invention, inter alia, must be novel, involve an inventive step, and be capable of industrial use. Various documents are to be submitted for an application. In this context, the Patent Claims are very important. Through the claims, the scope of protection of the invention is defined. A precise formulation is therefore urgently required, i.e. all technical features to be placed under protection must be exactly specified in the claims. (Source: LINK) The costs for an application total the application fee and the examination process, costs for the maintenance of the patent and the lawyer engaged are added thereto. Here, Jostarndt Patent and Trademark Attorneys take on a multitude of possible services:
- Carrying out prior art searches or identical screening and availability searches
- Consulting in the worldwide prosecution, defense, use, and enforcement of property rights. The evaluation of inventions, trademarks, and consulting in the selection of the optimal type of property rights inter alia belong thereto.
- Evaluation of property rights portfolios in the event of mergers and acquisitions, as well as transfers of property rights
- Conducting, and representation in national, regional and international proceedings for the application and obtaining, defense, maintenance of the property rights in objections as well as contradictions. Complaint, cancellation and restriction actions, inter alia, belong thereto, as well as the registering of supplementary protection certificates
- Enforcement of rights in extrajudicial proceeding, by way of preliminary legal protection and by way of an action
- Consulting in the use of property rights and licensing procedures
- Recommendation, execution and representation in actions for annulment for plaintiffs or defendants in all instances, including the Federal Patent Court and the Federal Court of Justice
Patent Monitoring (Alerts or SDI)
If a patent is facing application or if patent claims are already present, the work is not yet finished. A continuous monitoring protects your invention and idea, before and after the patent application. The reason here is very simple, patent monitoring helps to avoid costs for duplicate developments. This process is associated with some effort but is worth it for innovations which secure the financing of a firm. The monitoring generally includes countries, in which a company is in production and markets which are being directly served. Simultaneously, which new applications are effected by the competition can be directly observed as part of this process. Here, our legal strategies include innovative possibilities.
Investment Basis
European companies increased the number of patent applications in recent years, in 2013, it was barely 148,000, the numbers increased to 166,000 patent applications in 2017 (+3.9% to 2016). The rising number also reflects the attractiveness of the European market and the innovative strength. Trailblazers here are, inter alia, Huawei and Siemens as a German company (source: EPO 2018). German companies continue to be ln the lead in applications in Europe. There are also important reasons for this, as patents represent an optimal innovation and investment basis.
Patent Grant
Multiple years can go by until the granting of a patent. After a successful examination of the patent application, a patent can be granted. A patent application remains secret for 18 months, thereafter it is disclosed or published. There are special provisions, which are to be viewed as separate. The property right of the patent holder applies with the publication of the patent grant in the patent bulletin. A granted patent is valid for a maximum of 20 years, which start with the day after the application of the patent.