patents

Regarding PCT-applications, Germany has the third most PCT-applications worldwide and the single most in Europe - 15.000 a year. ThyssenKrupp as well has several hundred PCT-applications a year. For this purpose the company is using the services of inovia since 2011. It provides a system for filing applications for patents abroad electronically. Not only is ThyssenKrupp using the inovia-platform for admittance of the PCT-applications in the national phase but also for the regionalization of granted european patents. This way, they are able to save a lot of time and money in the process.

Innovation is important for the competitiveness of an enterprise. Patents protect innovations and enable companies to exploit the fruits of their R&D. This article focuses on the effects of product piracy upon our Western patent system. It shows that in the future there will be only two alternatives for the strategic IP-management in sectors exposed to piracy threats: to patent the inventions in all relevant markets or to maintain them as trade secrets. This paper highlights the parameters as well as results.