Apply for a patent: For whom is it worthwhile?

Do innovations always have to be protected by patent? When does patent protection make sense? And why does it depend on the right time? We talk about this with Bruno Götz, head of the Patent Center Bavaria.

Bruno, it's summer. Some may just enjoy a cocktail on vacation. Can I have a cocktail protected or does that make no sense?

Bruno Götz: To answer this question, I like to chat a little from the private sewing box. I have a good acquaintance in Nuremberg, who runs a cocktail bar. Some time ago, he invented his own cocktail and asked me whether it was possible to patent it. At first I advised against it, because the proof of a patent infringement would have been connected with enormous expenditure. After all, my acquaintance would have had to canvass every cocktail bar to check whether someone was copying his recipe. A few years later, we registered the patent anyway, but more for marketing purposes. Because due to a very rainy summer, his sales in outdoor gastronomy plummeted. Thus, in the end, my acquaintance actually had the only cocktail in all of Nuremberg and probably even in all of Bavaria that was registered with the patent office.

A promising marketing stunt. But actually the core of the patent law is very serious. Why does the state award patents then?

Bruno Götz: Normally, the state awards this monopoly as a reward for truly innovative inventions. The patent law has existed in Germany since 1877. Someone who strongly pushed for it was Werner von Siemens. He made many inventions himself in his company. After all, at some point he got tired of new inventions of his constantly appearing on the market and everyone being able to copy them.

Patents are on the one hand a protection, but on the other hand also an obligation to publish. Isn't it an invitation to imitation if I tell the world about my innovation?

Bruno Götz: The patent law is deliberately designed in such a way that the invention must be published after 18 months at the latest. Then anyone can view it and possibly further develop or improve it. This accelerates technological progress. However, if this results in a patent infringement, the patent owner can of course take action against it.

Do all patent applications automatically lead to success?

Bruno Götz: The most important thing when applying for a patent is actually the subsequent patent exploitation. If you can't market the invention yourself, that means finding a licensee or buyer, for example. In doing so, it is very important that I reach my potential customers through the right marketing channels. This is a challenge for freelance inventors and SMEs in particular, as they - unlike large companies - often do not have a sufficient distribution network.

Does the right timing also play a decisive role in this?

Bruno Götz: Absolutely. The best invention only helps something when the time is ripe. The airbag was registered in 1951 by Walter Linderer in Munich and was not installed in German cars until the mid-80s. This poor inventor probably didn't make any money with his patent because it expired after 20 years.

How do you support SMEs and startups on behalf of the Patent Center Bavaria?

Bruno Götz: We not only support SMEs and start-ups , but also start-ups, craftsmen, freelance inventors and students if they have an idea and want to develop it into innovation . There are many ways you can burn money and one of them is actually filing patents. Unfortunately, we have seen too many times in the past how people have completely speculated themselves with this. Large companies, unlike SMEs, have specialist departments. That's why we support small and medium-sized companies in Bavaria in particular. We explain the whole procedure in detail. We provide support with patent research. We also arrange suitable funding programs and raise awareness of the topic with events. In this way, we hope to make our companies in Bavaria more competitive.

Are your support services all free of charge?

Bruno Götz: Yes, our own supporting activities are all free of charge. However, we also have free economic services that, for example, patent attorneys, larger companies and SMEs commission. This mostly involves contract searches, patent monitoring, patent evaluations, patent management, etc.

The interview was conducted by Christoph Raithel, Team Leader Event at Bayern Innovativ GmbH.

Listen to the full interview as a podcast: