Applications for Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks

We can file applications for patents, designs, and trade marks on your behalf.

On the basis of documents provided to us by an inventor, such as a report on an invention made in accordance with employee invention law, we are able to draft patent applications in English or in German in close consultation with the inventor. The wording of the patent claims requires particular care as it is the claims that determine the legal scope of protection of the patent. Once a complete draft of the patent application has been reviewed and approved by the inventor, we are able to file it electronically at the German or European Patent Office. Prior to the drafting of a patent application, the invention can be assessed by way of a search for relevant prior art. If relevant prior art is located, the subject matter of the invention can be assessed to determine how it may be differentiated therefrom. After filing, a patent application is examined by the Patent Office as to whether or not the substantive requirements for patent protection have been satisfied, namely whether the invention is technical, novel, involves an inventive step over the prior art, and is industrially applicable.

Two- and three-dimensional products which are appealing in terms of their shape and/or appearance can be protected as designs. We can create a photographic or graphical representation of the product in question and can electronically submit a German or European design application, together with a request for grant, to the relevant Designs Office. The product to be protected should be imaged from different angles without any additional items and against a neutral background. It is important that all of the features for which protection is sought are clearly identifiable in the images. Alternative designs of a product can be protected with a single multiple design application. Following a formalities examination, the design is registered by the office and is published. The office does not examine whether the design actually satisfies the substantive requirements for protection such as novelty and uniqueness. These requirements are only examined in the case of a dispute before a civil court or during revocation proceedings.

If you would like to file an application for a German or European trade mark, we will be happy to take all the necessary steps on your behalf. All signs capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one company from those of another company can be protected by a trade mark application. Trade marks may consist of words, letters, numbers, drawings, three-dimensional objects and even of acoustic signals. Accordingly, a distinction is made between word marks, figurative marks, three-dimensional marks and sound marks. Before we submit a trade mark application to the relevant Trade Marks Office with the appropriate forms, we draw up a list of goods and services which offers the best possible protection for your goods and services. The office will examine whether or not the trade mark is excluded from registration based on absolute grounds for refusal. In particular, signs which merely describe the claimed goods or services cannot be registered for protection. During the application procedure, the office will not examine whether or not earlier trade marks or signs of third parties preclude registration. If the application satisfies the legal requirements and there are no grounds for refusal of registration, the office will enter the trade mark into the register. The registration will then be published in the official trade mark journal. Once the registration has been published, proprietors of earlier rights will have an opportunity to file an opposition to the registration of the trade mark.