Patents and utility models
Patents and utility models are appropriate protective rights when it comes to protecting inventions in the field of technology. A technical invention can be a device, a chemical composition, an electronic circuit, a manufacturing process or an algorithm for controlling a device function.
The art of formulating a patent or utility model is to transform something concrete into an abstract legal claim which is on the one hand easy to understand, but on the other hand offers the greatest possible scope of protection. This is precisely the strength of our experts, who work with you to draft protective rights that are as easy to enforce as possible. They will also give you competent advice on which of the two types of protective rights suits you best:
Patents are valid for 20 years, but it takes a relatively long time for them to undergo the obligatory examination procedure at the patent office. In contrast, utility models are registered very quickly, but are unexamined and are only valid for a maximum of 10 years. It is also possible to apply for a utility model parallel to a patent or to transform a patent application into a utility model.