For many years, German courts would, in principle, only grant a preliminary injunction in a patent case, if the patent in suit had “gone through the fire” in the sense of having survived an adversarial opposition or nullity proceeding at first instance. This case law was based on the consideration that it can be extremely … Continue Reading
The progress on the ratification of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC Agreement) had been delayed due to two constitutional complaints filed before the Constitutional Court in Germany. It was not the first attack on German UPC legislation. A first act of approval had been adopted by the Bundestag in March 2017, but … Continue Reading
American and Asian companies considering investments in Europe often focus on targets based in Germany, Europe’s largest national economy. Many buyers are not aware that due to the particularities of German employee invention law the patent portfolio of the target may contain considerable risks with regard to patent ownership. In the worst case, such “skeletons … Continue Reading
On 1 January 2014, a new Design Act came into force in Germany – Gesetz über den rechtlichen Schutz von Design (Designgesetz – DesignG). In a major change to the former system, the German legislator introduced design invalidity proceedings before the German Patent and Trademark Office (GPTO). This will significantly reduce the costs of invalidity … Continue Reading
