Patent application
The term patent application is used in different meanings:
- On the one hand, it describes the abstract legal position that arises when a description of the invention is submitted to a patent office for examination of patentability or for registration for a patent .
- On the other hand, the term in jargon often refers to the specific text that is written to illustrate the invention for use in the patent granting process.
Understanding as a legal position
A patent application pending at a patent office is a right that introduces the intangible asset of a technical invention into the legal system and makes it manageable. For this purpose, the patent application at an office makes various important determinations, among others
- the content of the invention - this can no longer be expanded -,
- the date of your application to the patent office - this can no longer be changed - and
- a (changeable) applicant with whom the patent office can communicate.
The patent application gives the applicant the right to be granted a patent if the material and other requirements are met or can be established in the course of an examination procedure. With a patent application, however, the proprietor cannot demand that others cease commercial activities.
The patent application has an owner . In relation to the patent office, the "applicant" named with the application is deemed to be the owner of the application and is entitled to act on the application in the following procedure. Like a patent, an application for it is also an intellectual property and can be transferred to a new owner (= applicant, owner) through a legal transaction or other mechanisms.
Patent offices, such as the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) or the European Patent Office (EPA), have information sheets available for filing patent applications .
Patent applications understood as a legal position are addressed more specifically according to the legal basis regulating them. For example there is
- German patent applications ("DE application")
- European patent applications ("EP application")
- international patent applications ("PCT application")
Understanding as a text work
The description of an invention for the purposes of the patent granting procedure is done in a text work, often called a "patent application", which the applicant must produce himself and then submit to a patent office when applying for patenting of his invention.
Content, structure
The content of a patent application is basically a subjective representation of an invention from the point of view of the applicant or inventor. The fact that the text is used to register a patent and is also officially published does not say anything about the real meaningfulness, practical usability or legal quality of the content.
A patent application has several clearly distinguishable text parts, most of which are required by law, e.g. B. in § 34 PatG or in Art. 78 EPC or have developed in practice. The individual parts of the patent application text are described below.
Description of the prior art
Initially, it should be shown from which technical situation the invention was based, i.e. what the state of the art is. As far as possible, this situation should also be supported by reproducible evidence, such as company brochures, specialist articles or other previously published patent applications. This part can be a few lines or many pages long.
Problem, task
It should be shown what is regarded as unsatisfactory or in need of improvement in the state of the art and what object is therefore the basis of the invention. The task (e.g. reducing fuel consumption) is often the positive formulation of the problem in the prior art (e.g. relatively high fuel consumption). This part is often a paragraph or two long.
Description of the invention
The description of the invention is the main part of a patent application. It can range from a few pages to many tens of pages. In this part, the invention is described in its most general form and in variants and modifications. The invention should be described here on various levels of detail, namely from as broadly and generally formulated as possible to relatively concrete "designs". However, it is not necessary to actually write complete instructions for an invention.
Claims
The patent claims are the text part of an application that has two very important tasks: On the one hand, they name the combinations of features that are intended to justify the granting of a patent, and on the other hand, they limit the protection of the possibly granted patent to precisely these combinations of features. The amendment and formulation of the patent claims is an essential part of the work in the patent grant process.
The claims must not name any content that goes beyond the content of the previous description of the invention. In other words: Everything that is in the claims should also be presented (in more detail) in the description. The claims excerpt the contents of the description in a nutshell.
characters
Patent applications often contain drawings to illustrate the invention, possibly also to illustrate the state of the art.
Summary
The summary is a very short excerpt from the description. It will be printed on the cover of the publication.
Elaboration of the text "patent application"
There are no legal requirements as to who has to prepare a patent application. People residing in Germany can also act before the patent authorities themselves, i.e. without a representative, and contact them directly. You can also write your own patent applications and submit them to a patent office.
Experience shows, however, that patent applications that are written by inexperienced persons are often technically correct, but do not optimally take account of the other requirements. This is why patent applications are often prepared, submitted and accompanied by a patent attorney .
If an applicant himself has prepared and submitted a suboptimal application, it is often not possible to professionally repair such applications because of the disclosure requirement. The way out in this situation is to have a patent application drawn up professionally and to file it as a new application. This should be done within 18 months of the first registration, because then it may not have been published. Even better, the professional new registration takes place within one year of the first registration; then their priority can be claimed.
use
After drafting, the patent application is usually submitted to a patent office and is therefore the basis for a patent application in the legal understanding of the term mentioned above. The content is then checked in the course of the examination procedure, amended if necessary and, if a patent-worthy version can be created, granted a patent. Both patent applications and subsequently issued patents are officially published.
Web links
- Registration of a patent on the website of the German Patent and Trademark Office
- Register a patent on the website of the European Patent Office
- "Patent applications" map of Germany from ZEITmagazin, February 6, 2017
Individual evidence
- ↑ DPMA: Information sheet for patent applicants .
- ↑ EPO: The way to a European patent ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Art. 78 EPC.
