Would you like to carry out a search for existing patents and utility models and need support? Via Zoom or on-site at the ULB, you will familiarise yourself with at least one patent database through a accompanied search, learn what is important when entering data into the search mask and how to read patents. You set the direction of the search and are guided to the goal, e.g. to be able to carry out a search independently or to successfully analyse the search results.

You have the following options:

• 1. by telephone at extension: -76505.
• 2. by mail to: stephan.cradock@tu-…

After contacting us, you will be asked to complete and return a questionnaire. An appointment can then be arranged and the desired support clarified.

In the case of accompanied online research, you will receive a link to a Zoom conference by mail.

You will be guided through the search virtually or on-site, receive assistance in formulating your enquiry and can ask general questions about industrial property rights. Please note that no legal advice can be given.

The cost of an accompanied search is €40.00 per half hour.

Your advantages:

• Realisation online or on-site at the ULB
• Time-saving search possible without travelling
• Duration and depth of search according to your individual wishes

Overview searches provide an initial insight whether a technical idea, e.g. for a product or process, represents an innovation or is already part of the state of the art. They also show whether other patent specifications or utility models exist that overlap with the own idea and could be infringed by it.

The searcher works on the question on your behalf and searches for hits on the state of the art in the relevant field of technology. A search report with a list of hits is created. The publication numbers are linked to the complete documents in a patent database. Please note that the search hits are not rated according to relevance.

The aim is to obtain a rough but significant overview of the state of the art for the respective selected technology and/or product, for example as a collection of ideas or an assessment of the competition without evaluating relevance.

• Cost-effective search for the state of the art in the selected area
• An overview search does not require an exact country scope.
• As a result, patents and utility models are delivered, without relevance assessment
• You receive the results as a search report with a hit list, the hits are linked to the identified full patent documents in a database.

Industrial property rights, such as patents or utility models, grant the owner a (usually time-limited) prohibition right for their own creative work. If the protection of intellectual property is waived, third parties can copy the idea and bring it to market themselves.

Whether it makes sense to take the official registration route depends on the specific circumstances:

• Does the application provide information that would have been better kept secret?
• Is it possible to wait 18 months for the application to be disclosed or for the patent to be granted after examination by the patent/trademark office?
• Do I have to report the technical idea? According to German employee invention law, the applicant for an invention is the employer if the inventor is an employee.
• What is the filing behaviour of competitors?
• How important is infringement by competitors?

If no industrial property right is registered, the following options are available to prevent competitors from making a direct copy:

• Secrecy: Here everything depends on the possibility of keeping the know-how secret, e.g. through organisational measures.
• Utilising the technical advantage: With a defined product, you have a unique position for a limited period of time. However, you are then forced to constantly develop it further in order not to lose your competitive advantage.

If you decide to apply for an industrial property right, you can choose between different ways

• For technical ideas (inventions), you can register a patent and/or utility model.
• For the design of a product, you can register a design, an IP right.
• To mark a name, product name or service name, you can register a trade mark.

If both technical and design elements of your idea are new, various property rights can be applied for.

You will only receive protection in the country in which you register the IP right(s). A German registration is therefore only valid in Germany.

For assistance with registration and further information, please contact the Department of Research and Transfer.