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Patents

Patents are the IP rights with the longest history and with the highest level of technicity among the industrial property rights. Patent protection for products or processes is not easy to obtain but can prove to be extremely useful. Patents are the avant-garde of technological progress, the heart of innovative technology businesses – thus of great economic importance.

The following pages contain information about how to get a patent – including all steps from search to international extension. We provide you with an overview of the significance of patent protection and of the possibilities it offers. Topics include the requirements for obtaining this type of protection as well as the search, which should precede a successful patent application. We explain how such an application works in detail, what the examination procedure looks like and when a patent can be granted. Of course, we also tell you how to extend your patent protection to other countries and how to challenge a patent. And we also answer frequently asked questions around the topic of patent protection.

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Last updated: 20 October 2020