Litigations
A utility model confers on the holder the same rights as a patent. This means that the holder of a utility model is able to take legal steps against an infringer of his industrial property right. The prospective infringer on the other hand may doubt the validity of the utility model in court or file a request for cancellation of the registered utility model at the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA – Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt). Then, a first substantive examination of a registered utility model follows. In case that the validity of the utility model will not be confirmed, no rights can be asserted against the infringer who has moreover the right to claim compensation from you as the holder of the utility model.
It is therefore recommended to evaluate the utility model in advance with regard to its novelty and inventiveness in order to be able to evaluate the chances for success of an infringement litigation or cancellation proceedings. A search that will evaluate the state of the art of your utility model can be requested with the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA – Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt).
We will help you to assert your rights and to protect your utility model against attacks by third parties.
