“From Invention to Patent” – in a one-day workshop organised by the PATON Thuringia State Patent Centre, anyone interested can find out how to protect their invention. Specialists from the German Patent and Trade Mark Office will provide participants with an overview of industrial property rights, introduce them to a patent database, offer guidance on the structure of patent specifications and walk them through the patent application process. The workshop will take place on 28 October from 9.00 am to 3.30 pm at Gotha City Library; attendance is free of charge.
Registration: sabine.milde@tu-ilmenau.de
German companies that protect their intellectual property perform better in the market than those that do not register their rights: businesses with patents, trade marks or design protection generate almost a quarter more turnover per employee than companies without intellectual property rights. When industry, company size and location are taken into account, this revenue advantage rises to as much as 41 per cent. As a result, companies that hold intellectual property rights can pay their employees, on average, 22 per cent higher wages than those without such rights. Around half of large companies hold intellectual property rights, whilst the figure for small and medium-sized enterprises is just 10 per cent – a significant economic factor in Thuringia, where small and medium-sized enterprises predominate.
The PATON Thuringia State Patent Centre, based at the Technische Universität Ilmenau, aims to raise awareness of the importance of patents, trademarks and design protection, and – in collaboration with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, Regionalmanagement Thüringer Bogen and Gotha City Council – is hosting a workshop entitled ‘From Invention to Patent’ on 28 October.
In the morning, two patent examiners from the German Patent and Trade Mark Office will give participants an overview of industrial property rights, explain the requirements for patenting inventions and provide an insight into the structure of patent specifications. In the afternoon, they will explain the procedure for patent applications before the German Patent and Trade Mark Office and how patent claims are amended during the examination process; they will introduce the DEPATISnet patent database and explain how to access electronic files. Finally, the participants will discuss practical examples from the field of patent examination together. The workshop also offers the chance to take a look behind the scenes at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office. Participants in the workshop will receive a certificate of attendance from the German Patent and Trade Mark Office.
