Patent expiry dates

Development of a research result at OVGU; where applicable, a patentable invention with the following key features:

• new
• inventive
• (commercially) applicable

Confidentiality applies with immediate effect: no public disclosure in any form, including:

• no lectures or presentations at trade fairs and conferences;
• no technical discussions with third parties who are not subject to a written confidentiality agreement;
• no conference contributions (and also no "hints" to third parties);
• no publications;
• no publicly accessible final reports;
• no submission of publications to scientific journals;
• no discussion of the invention in public places (train, tram, etc.);
• no defence of the Bachelor’s/Master's thesis or dissertation if held in public;
• no display of the Bachelor's/Master's thesis or dissertation in the university library.

Submit the invention disclosure to the TUGZ at OVGU with a clear reference to the planned publication; Obtain approval from the TUGZ (in writing)

If the invention disclosure is incomplete, for example because

• a description of the invention;
• the private address;
• details of how the invention came about

are missing, the TUGZ will contact you within two months.

• the OVGU will decide whether to claim the rights to a service invention or release them. 
• Release is granted in writing.
• If no release has been granted within four months of submitting the complete invention disclosure, the OVGU automatically claims the rights to the employee invention.

Registration of the invention in the form of a patent application (the date of submission of the application is defined as
‘T = 0’ for all subsequent deadlines):

• Commencement of the term of the property right (retroactive upon grant of the patent);
• Start of the priority year (national and international):
  possibility of filing derivative patent applications; possibility of incorporating further developments.
• Publications without risk of loss of novelty.

Optional steps (carried out by TUGZ):

• Application for an official patent search (duration: approx. 2 to 6 months)
• Application for an official patent examination (duration: approx. 4 to 24 months)

Deadline for payment of the patent application in Germany:

• failure to comply will result in the registration lapsing

• End of the period for international extension of the patent (‘priority year’: for example, the extension of the patent application to other countries under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), with the same retroactive start date of protection upon grant of the patent by the relevant international patent offices).
• Publications within these 12 months do not constitute prior art for the subsequent application.
• TUGZ is responsible for payments and monitoring deadlines; no action is required on the part of the inventors.

Disclosure: Publication of the patent registration 18 months after registration, regardless of whether the patent has been granted or not.

Patent grant, provided that

• there are no formal errors in the patent application or any errors have been corrected;
• the official request for examination has been filed and paid for;
• any deficiencies identified have been successfully rectified;
• the request for examination has been approved.

For a period of 9 months following the publication of the grant of the patent, third parties (competitors) may still file an opposition. If no opposition is filed in due form and within the prescribed time limit, the TUGZ will receive a corresponding notification from the Office.

Commencement of annual fee payments: in Germany annual fees, in other countries possibly also amounts exceeding > 12 months; fees are on a sliding scale; the patent lapses if payment is not made within the prescribed period.

Deadline for the patent examination: the very last opportunity to file the official request for examination; otherwise, patenting is not possible.

The TUGZ also monitors these deadlines.

Expiry of the patent (maximum term of patent protection has been reached).