FAQ

If you want to register a patent, you can generally do this yourself. It is up to you to decide whether you want to consult a specialist attorney for advice, preparation of the necessary documents and registration. However, it is advisable to consult experienced specialists when drawing up a patent strategy, as they can often significantly increase company values. You can find detailed information on this topic on the website of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, for example.

If several people are involved in the creation of an invention, there are different options depending on the specific circumstances. If the persons work together in a simple partnership, for example, a patent license agreement should regulate the rights. If external persons are involved, the exact regulations are described in a license agreement.

A patent is good if it includes as many perspectives as possible and, for example, not only patents a process, but possibly also individual components (which competitors could otherwise copy to create their own product) or specific product functions that are made possible by a startup’s process.

For a sign (e.g. a word or a logo) to be protected as a trademark for certain goods or services, it must be distinctive. It must not be limited to banal or descriptive elements for the claimed products. Terms that are purely descriptive (e.g. “fresh fruit” for fruit, “swiss precision timekeeper” for watches, etc.) are therefore generally not protectable as a trademark. In contrast, purely fanciful signs, e.g. “Novartis®” for pharmaceuticals or “Apple®” for computers, can be protected without further ado; from a trademark law perspective, these are “strong trademarks”. Between these extremes are “weak trademarks”, which are likely to just clear the hurdle to protectability, e.g. “Mintbons” for sweets.