2.2. Business Idea & Value Proposition

In competition, products and services can only be protected against foreign access to a limited extent. Intellectual property is protected by industrial property rights: patents, utility models, trademarks, names or designs In the case of property rights, a certificate is issued for the right to exploit an invention on its own. An IP right gives its owner an exclusive position for a certain period of time. The exclusive right excludes competitors from commercial exploitation. It gives the owner of the rights the opportunity to conquer and secure market share.

In Germany, for example, protective rights are registered with the German Patent and Trademark Office. Depending on the area for which the protection is to apply, an application to the European Patent Office, the European Trademark Office or other foreign offices may also be considered.

• "Patents can only be applied for on truly "patentable" inventions This applies to innovations that must have a "technical character" and be "industrially applicable". They must also actually be new. Finally, it must be an invention and not, for example, an "obvious craft solution" to a problem that is virtually obvious. What thus ultimately "patentable" can often only be clarified with the help of a patent attorney or during examination by the patent office."
• A utility model can be registered for all technical inventions (not processes) that could also be patented Difference: The term of protection is shorter. And in contrast to the patent, such a pronounced inventive step is not required here."
• patents or utility models, which are granted for technical products or processes, design patents protect Here, the design of products is protected, but also, for example, the design of fabrics and wallpapers.
• The trademark is, so to speak, the business card with which goods and services appear on the market Not only words can be protected as trademarks, but also sequences of letters, numbers, logos, colour combinations, sound marks (sequences of sounds) etc. Registration in the trademark register prohibits third parties from using the protected trademark or a similar trademark for identical or similar goods or services. Goods and services are divided into 42 classes (e.g., clothing, toys)."
• "Company names are not property rights, but they can also be protected First of all, automatically through registration in the commercial register. This name (or one confusingly similar to it) may not thereafter be used again in the same district court district and here in the same industry. If this happens nevertheless, the older trademark rights take effect. Company names can also be registered as trademarks. Caution: Trademark rights can often prevail over name rights."
• An Internet domain is not a property right either, but it is nevertheless protected. They are registered, varying in different countries. Before choosing a domain name, companies should clarify whether they are possibly infringing existing domain name rights (and trademark rights). Here too - as with company names - it usually depends on who first registered the domain in question. Domain names can also be registered as trademarks. Caution: Trademark rights can often prevail over name rights.