Protect Your Invention in Germany
Germany's patent system, administered by the Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt (DPMA), gives inventors up to 20 years of exclusive rights over a new, inventive, and industrially applicable technical invention. Whether you file directly with the DPMA or route protection through a European patent designating Germany, Brealant guides you through search, filing, and prosecution.
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Essential Guide to Patent Protection in Germany
What it Covers: Under the German Patent Act, a patent protects a technical invention that is new, involves an inventive step, and is capable of industrial application.
Examination: Filing alone does not trigger substantive examination in Germany. It must be separately requested within seven years.
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A Hassle-Free Patent Filing Journey with Brealant
- Search: Our team runs a prior art search against German, European, and international records.
- File: Brealant drafts your specification and claims and files your application with the DPMA, or via the EPO designating Germany.
- Wait: We track your application through the DPMA's review.
Clear, Simple Steps to Patenting Your Invention in Germany
Filing with the DPMA establishes your priority date and starts a formal review of your application's paperwork, but substantive examination of novelty and inventive step only begins once examination is requested within seven years of filing.
What Patent Protection Covers in Germany
New products, processes, apparatus, and methods that solve a technical problem and meet the novelty and inventive step requirements.
The right to stop others from making, using, selling, or importing your invention in Germany for up to 20 years from the filing date.
Brealant helps you decide whether a full patent, a utility model, or both give your invention the strongest protection.
Limitations — What Patent Protection Cannot Guarantee
Strict Novelty Requirement
Any public disclosure of your invention before filing, including your own, can destroy patentability in most cases.
Excluded Subject Matter
Discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, business methods, software as such, and purely aesthetic creations are excluded.
Examination Must Be Requested
An application that never has examination requested within seven years is treated as withdrawn.
Territorial Scope
A German patent only protects your invention within Germany.
Brealant explains these limitations clearly so you know exactly what your patent protects — and what it doesn't.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does filing a patent application in Germany automatically start examination?
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No. Substantive examination must be separately requested within seven years of filing, or the application is deemed withdrawn.
What is the difference between a patent and a utility model in Germany?
A patent undergoes substantive examination for up to 20 years of protection; a utility model is registered without examination for up to 10 years, and cannot cover processes.
Can a European patent give me protection in Germany without a separate national filing?
Yes. A European patent granted by the EPO can be validated in Germany, giving it the same effect as a nationally granted German patent.
What can't be patented in Germany?
Discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, business methods, software as such, and purely aesthetic creations are excluded.
How long does it take to get a patent granted in Germany?
Timing varies widely, but from filing to grant commonly takes two to four years or more, depending largely on when examination is requested.
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