We know the law

Anyone who invests in technological developments wants to benefit from them. And that is what patents are for. They entitle the holder to forbid others from using the invention for a certain period of time. Patentees can thus secure their economic strength through licensing or by marketing their patented ideas themselves. Thus, patents are often a key incentive for companies to actually keep on innovating.

The big question when it comes to the patent application: How do I express a complex situation as precisely as possible? Because, the simpler the right to protection for an invention is formulated, the more far-reaching it will become - a tricky task. This is where experts can help to find the simple aspects in a complex issue. Experts like us. We’ve got the necessary expertise, a keen sense of the market and the experience to meet all the requirements regarding content and form that are needed for a patent.

For a European patent (EP) to be valid in the countries you want it to be, it must be validated after it has been granted. Here, too, we offer a full service following recognized compliance rules as well as the professional guidelines for German patent attorneys and attorneys-at-law (confidentiality, liability, etc.). We make it easier for you to decide which European countries to validate your EP patent in after it’s granted, as a patent with unitary effect (UP) and/or nationally, with a list of possibilities to choose from. This list already contains a concrete indication of the expected costs. In the case of national validations, we represent you directly before the national office in all countries where this is possible and reasonable, to keep costs low. In all other countries, we work closely with selected patent law firms that we have chosen for you over decades based on quality and cost. The cost certainty that this brings means that we can calculate the cost for each individual patent we validate in advance. So you can work out the cost of the entire validation directly and precisely before hiring us. All powers of attorney required abroad are prepared centrally by us and made available to you for signature at the same time as the order confirmation. In addition, you only receive one invoice per order and one overall report for all countries. Which means you spend less time on record keeping and filing.

We currently manage over 12,500 EP validations.

The effect of a patent in another country of the world depends on whether an application has been filed in that country with the respective national patent office in compliance with the respective regulations - and, if necessary, a translation into the respective national language. The typical countries in which nationalization takes place are the USA, Japan and China. In the countries in which the patent has been nationalized, it then has the same effect as a national patent. This means that it can also be used against infringers in that country. For the nationalization of patents, we work with experienced colleagues in over 100 partner law firms around the world. Our colleagues abroad, whom we also carefully select for you with regard to the technical and legal expertise required in each case, support us on a high professional level and at comparatively low costs. We have been building up this network of partner law firms since our firm was founded and continue to intensively monitor and maintain it through regular cooperation and visits. The large number of national patents that we manage for our clients as a whole plays an important role in this; in particular it enables us to obtain special purchasing conditions.

We currently manage over 3,600 national patents, of which around 800 are in the USA, 700 in China, and over 300 in Japan.

Brand names should awaken emotions and encourage consumers to buy. During the creation process, all kinds of proposals regarding these criteria are brought forward and checked. But the legal side of the matter is just as important. This is where it’s all about ensuring that the product can hold its own in the market and is given the best possible protection against counterfeiting. Trademark application is an important step to that end. We’ll support you with brand development and research and find out if your desired brand is sustainable and enforceable—even abroad.

You can rely on our expertise and experience. We are in charge of more than 12,000 brands on a national as well as international level. That makes us one of the leading German law firms in this area of intellectual property rights.

No doubt about it: The design of a product has a huge impact on the buying decision. Similar to a brand it often has an emotional effect on consumers and may even be the expression of one’s own identity. For companies, the design of their products is therefore also a customer retention tool. Which makes it all the more important that it is registered as a property right. This gives owners the exclusive right of usage for a certain period of time.

We’ll keep an eye on the protection of your design. In doing so, we’ll help you clarify the protective potential and develop an appropriate application strategy: important measures to help you protect yourself against competitors.