Industrial property protection comprises various legal protections which are relevant to the commercial exploitation of intellectual creations.

The best known IP rights are patents, utility models, trade marks and designs.

If you want to protect a product name, company name or a logo, for example, you can do this by means of trade mark property rights.

Patent property rights apply to technical inventions.

Copyright protects intellectual and artistic creations, e.g. compositions, paintings, sculptures, texts, stage productions, photographs, films, radio programmes, music and sound recordings. In Germany, computer programs can also be protected by copyright.

Technical ideas can be filed as patent applications or utility model applications to the German Patent and Trade Mark Office. At European level, patent applications can be submitted to the European Patent Office.

Technical ideas can be protected by filing patent applications. The technical idea is examined by the Patent Office as to patentability, i.e. whether the idea is new, involves an inventive step and is capable of industrial application. If these conditions are met, a patent is granted. The patent owner receives a certificate and has an examined property right which allows them to take action against copying.

A patent application is published 18 months after the filing date. This first publication, also referred to in Germany as the “Offenlegungsschrift”, is the means by which the general public is made aware of a submitted idea. From this point in time it is possible to view the status and progress of the examination of a patent application in the patent register.

The utility model is “the fast IP right”. It generally takes several years to examine and grant a patent. A utility model, on the other hand, can be registered just a few weeks after filing of the application, if the submitted documents comply with the provisions of the Utility Model Act and the filing fee has been paid on time. (Source: DPMA).

In contrast to patents, there is no utility model registration at European level. Furthermore, utility model protection is not available in all countries. Utility models are of considerable importance, however, in China.

As a rule, a trade mark is used to identify the goods and/or services of a company, but clubs, universities or even private individuals can apply to register a trade mark. Signs suitable for distinguishing a company’s goods and/or services from those of other companies can be protected as trade marks. These can be, for example, words, letters, numbers, images, but also colours, holograms, multimedia signs and sounds.

Trade mark protection is obtained by entry of a trade mark in the register of the DPMA. Trade mark protection can also arise from public recognition as a result of intensive use of a sign in the course of business or by its general reputation. (Source: DPMA)

The DPMA examines the trade mark application with regard to absolute grounds for refusal. Absolute grounds for refusal include:

• a lack of distinctiveness
• descriptive terms which must be kept freely available for general use
• an emblem of state included in the trade mark
• offence against public policy or accepted principles of morality.

CAUTION: The DPMA does NOT check whether the trade mark to be registered already exists. It therefore makes sense and is necessary to conduct a trade mark search in advance.

The two-dimensional or three-dimensional appearance of the whole or a part of a product can be registered as a design. The design right protects the design of a flat surface – for example, of a textile or wallpaper – or the design of a three-dimensional object. In this context, the following features of a product play a role: lines, contours, colours, shape, texture or the materials used.

With a registered design, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) grants a temporary monopoly on the appearance, that is, the shape and colour of a product. The representations of a design submitted with an application determine the scope and subject matter of protection and are therefore of vital importance. Protection applies only to what is visible from the representations.

Registered designs may be applied for by companies or private individuals. Protection is obtained by entry of the design in the register of the DPMA and applies throughout the Federal Republic of Germany. The term of protection for a registered design is a maximum of 25 years from the filing date.