What’s the Plan?

The application of a protective right represents an investment. As with any investment, it is prudent to consider what goal is sought to be achieved by the investment and what measures are sensible to arrive at this goal. In this content, I can provide you with my advice in particular with respect to the following questions:

• identification of the exclusive right sought by your Company
• giving advice as to the suitable IP rights (e.g., patent / trademark / patent and design/ etc.)
• carving out the core of your desired IP right
• determination of the desired territorial extent of protection
• giving advice as to filing strategies for national or international protection

There exists a plurality of filing strategies because of the plurality of ways in which protection can be achieved in a particular country. For example, patent protection for Germany can be achieved by means of a national German patent or by means of a European patent. A number of international agreements in the area of intellectual property protection are available and represent a keyboard that has to be played. Which filing strategy is best suited for a particular desired protective right depends on the circumstances of the case, with time, costs and territorial extent being the main factors.