Patents protect new technical inventions. They confer to their owners a territorial monopoly right for a limited period of 20 years in return to the disclosure of the invention. To qualify for patent protection, the inventions need to meet three criteria: novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability.
German Patent Act secures the rights of the right holders of patents.
A patent infringement is the act of using a protected invention without permission from the patent holder. Every kind of contributory or direct infringement is prohibited by law.
Patents are a form of intellectual property. Patent law regulates the protection of invention and the claims of the right holder as well as their enforcement. The granting and enforcement of patents are governed by national laws and the procedure and the requirements vary between countries. In Germany, patents are regulated by the German Patent Act.
A penalty for breach of contract is a fixed amount of money which has to be paid, in the case of violation of the obligations of a contract.
A preliminary injunction is a provisional court decision establishing or maintaining a legal situation in a quick summary procedure. Regarding trademark and design infringements, a specialized IP court in Germany will take a decision within 2-3 working days. In exceptional cases, such as at trade fairs, within 1-2 hours. The preliminary injunction is laid down in §§ 985 ff. ZPO (German Code of Civil Procedure).
A prior rights agreement enables the coexistence of two similar signs. The agreement allows a third party to use a sign according to the agreed upon requirements. Through these requirements, a conflict with the protection scope of the older right should be excluded. For example the agreement can include a requirement that the sign can only be used in a certain color or manner.
In German copyright law, publication means the first presentation of a work to the public with the consent of the author.