Death of the patentability:
Prior disclosure

Your invention is no longer new if you have described it publicly. Publishing the invention – be it at a conference, in the Internet, on a poster, in a specialist journal or to external scientists - before a patent application is filed at the patent office makes it impossible to patent your invention in Europe and most other countries.

On the other hand, there is no scientific development if there is no fruitful dialog with partners from science and industry. You do not have to forego such communication, of course.

Safeguard yourself in advance: Conclude confidentiality agreements with your partners before exchanging ideas and data. Such agreements can also be concluded informally. A simple method is for your discussion partner to briefly confirm by e-mail, for example, that it will treat your ideas and data confidentially. At symposia or seminars with external participants one option is to state on the list of participants that all participants are to treat the ideas and data presented confidentially. This list of participants with brief confidentiality declaration should be signed by each participant at registration, for example.

Publications despite patent application? – “Yes” of course

Your academic career depends decisively on the timely publication of your research findings for the specialist public. If you want to benefit not only academically but also economically from your invention, however, you must first safeguard your rights to your intellectual property. As soon as your idea has been filed with the patent office, there is nothing to stop you publishing your work.

If you contact us in good time, we ensure that the patenting process does not interfere with your plans for publication. You tell us when you would like to publish your work and we will coordinate the patenting process accordingly.

Checklist:
Confidentiality of your invention

Unrestricted patentability

• Manuscript sent to publisher before publication
• Talk in front of person with confidentiality, written or verbal
• Funding applications

No longer patentable due to publication

• Publication in journals, magazines, radio
• Internet/library
• Diplom Master dissertation/doctoral thesis
• Talk/poster at a conference
• Talk in front of a public without confidentiality