I would like to protect something at the patent office.
September 14, 2009 | 30,00 EUR | answered by Andreas Scholz
Hello and thank you in advance.
As a general question, I have the following scenario: let's say I want to globally patent protect an inflatable car (as a children's toy, for example), and assuming there isn't one already with the unique feature of being inflatable.
1. Is this possible?
2. What needs to be submitted (is it a trademark or what needs to be applied for at the patent office for global protection)?
3. Do I need to submit a construction drawing/sample?
I kindly request not to copy and paste excerpts from any treatises as a response, but to please answer clearly and simply so that I can understand.
Thank you very much.
Dear inquirer,
Patent protection for your inflatable car will not be granted, as §1 PatG specifies what is patentable:
"Patents are granted for inventions in all fields of technology, provided they are new, involve an inventive activity, and are industrially applicable."
Inflating something does not represent a new technology. Therefore, patent protection - whether national or international - is not available for your idea.
Possible options could include protection under trademark law and design/utility model law.
For protection under the GeschmMG, the following requirements must be met according to § 2:
(1) A design is protected as a design if it is new and has individual character.
(2) A design is considered new if no identical design has been disclosed before the filing date. Designs are considered identical if their features only differ in immaterial details.
(3) A design has individual character if the overall impression it produces on the informed user differs from the overall impression produced by another design disclosed before the filing date on that user. When assessing individual character, the degree of design freedom of the designer in developing the design is taken into account.
Whether your project is protectable as a design is something I cannot assess from a distance. A review would be necessary here. Drawings/sketches are required for an application.
Additionally, if your idea could be protected under the GeschmMG, you could also register a trademark for your idea. There are word and figurative marks available.
The German Patent and Trademark Office in Munich (www.dpma.de) is responsible for the registration of protection. You must contact them for registration. Necessary application forms can also be downloaded from their website. While international protection can also be obtained through the office, a legally secure application always requires that "the same" is not already protected in another country. Such research is time-consuming, but there are commercial providers for such searches, and the DPMA also conducts research for a fee.
At this point, I would like to provide you with the fee schedule of the DPMA so that you can get an overview of the costs.
Fees for design protection:
Application fee 40.00 euros
Search fee (not necessarily required for registration) 250.00 euros
Maintenance fee after 3 years 210.00 euros
Maintenance fee after 6 years 350.00 euros
Maintenance fee after 8 years 530.00 euros
Deletion request 300.00 euros
Fees for trademark registration:
(Note: The registration of the trademark is for different goods and services that you must specify in the application, and again divided into classes)
Application fee (including the class fee for up to three classes) 300.00 euros
Application fee for electronic application (including the class fee for up to three classes) 290.00 euros
Class fee for application (for each class from the fourth class onwards) 100.00 euros
Accelerated examination of the application 200.00 euros
Renewal fee (including the class fee for up to three classes) 750.00 euros
Class fee for renewal (for each class from the fourth class onwards) 260.00 euros
Opposition fee 120.00 euros
Deletion fee for invalidity due to absolute grounds for refusal 300.00 euros
Deletion fee for expiration 100.00 euros
I hope this information was helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask.
Best regards,
Andreas Scholz, attorney
