We are a Nuremberg-based patent law firm specializing in advising and representing medium-sized companies in all national and international matters of intellectual property. Our aim is to provide our clients’ ideas and innovations with optimal legal protection. In order to avoid legal disadvantages in protecting ideas and innovations, it is of particular importance to seek legal support at an early stage.

FIELDS OF EXPERTISE

PATENTS

Patents are used to protect technical ideas (objects, methods and substances) from imitation. In order to acquire a patent, the technical idea has to be described within the framework of a patent application. A patent is granted on the basis of an examination by the relevant patent office into whether the technical idea is novel, inventive and industrially applicable. The economic value of a patent resides primarily in the wording of its claims, which set out the scope of protection.

Services we provide:

  • Preparing patent applications
  • Filing patent applications and implementing examination proceedings at the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) and the European Patent Office (EPO)
  • Ordering the filing of national foreign patent applications through associates abroad, including coordination of examina tion proceedings
  • Representing patent proprietors in revocation and opposition proceedings
  • Representation before and during court proceedings in the event of patent infringement
  • Drawing up expert reports
  • Carrying out searches and assessing search results
  • Representation in border seizure cases
  • Patent valuation
  • Standard-Essential Patents (SEP)

UTILITY MODELS

Utility models protect technical ideas (objects and substances) from imitation. In order to acquire a utility model, the technical idea has to be described within the framework of a utility model application. A utility model is granted without the need for an examination of novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability. The economic value of a utility model resides primarily in the wording of its claims, which set out the scope of protection. The advantage of the utility model is that it enables a property right to be obtained quickly.

Services we provide:

  • Preparing utility model applicationsPreparing utility model applications
  • Filing utility model applications at the German Patent and Trademark Office
  • Ordering the filing of national foreign utility model applications through associates abroad
  • Representing utility model proprietors in cancellation proceedings
  • Representation before and during court proceedings in the event of utility model infringement
  • Drawing up expert reports
  • Carrying out searches and assessing search results
  • Representation in border seizure cases
  • Utility model valuation

TRADEMARKS

A trademark is a nationally protected mark of origin for a product or a service with which the public associates a particular quality of the product or service. If a mark of origin is not protected as a trademark, there is usually no protection against imitations. Simply using a mark of origin without trademark protection does not always justify protection. For a trademark to be obtained, the sign in question has to be distinctive and there must be no requirement to keep the mark freely available for use by competitors.

Services we provide:

  • Advice on the eligibility of a planned trademark for protection
  • Carrying out trademark searches, company name searches and title protection searches and assessing search results
  • Preparing lists of goods and services
  • Filing trademark applications and implementing registration proceedings at the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA), the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
  • Ordering the filing of national foreign trademark applications through associates abroad, including coordination of registration proceedings Ordering the filing of national foreign trademark applications through associates abroad, including coordination of registration proceedings
  • Representing trademark proprietors in opposition and cancellation proceedings
  • Representation before and during court proceedings in the event of trademark infringement
  • Drawing up expert report
  • Representation in border seizure case
  • Monitoring trademarks for conflicting marks
  • Trademark valuation

DOMAINS

Property right infringements often arise on the Internet, e.g. when domain names conflict with identification rights or websites contain trademark infringements. Products infringing property rights are also increasingly being sold over the Internet.

Services we provide:

  • Advice and representation in disputes over domain names
  • Representation in domain arbitration proceedings (ADR, WIPO etc.)
  • Asserting legal claims for the cancellation of domain names
  • Filing of dispute petitions (DENIC)
  • Advice and representation in other property right infringements on the Internet (e. g. AdWords or MetaTags)

DESIGNS

A design protects the two- or threedimensional appearance of an object. The design is protected on the basis of figures filed under a design application to the relevant office. An exception to this is the unregistered Community design, the protection of which begins on first publication of the relevant design within the European Union and lasts for three years.

Services we provide:

PROTECTION ON THE BASIS OF COMPETITON LAW

Even if products are unprotected by any registered property right, in certain specific circumstances, rights of injunction, information and damages can nevertheless be asserted in the event of an imitation on the basis of the Unfair Competition Act (UWG).

Services we provide:

  • Carrying out product searchesCarrying out product searches
  • Advice in product design (how does a product have to differ from the original product)
  • Representation before and during court proceedings in the event of conflict
  • Investigating the originality of a product

The above activities are restricted to the scope set out in Art. 3 of the Patent Attorney Order (PAO).

EMPLOYEE INVENTIONS

Inventions by employees in Germany are regulated by the Employee Inventions Act (ArbEG). This Act contains complicated regulations relating to the ownership and administration of and remuneration for employee inventions and proposals for technical improvement.

Services we provide:

  • Advising and representing companies in the assertion of claims by employee inventors
  • Advising and representing employee inventors in the assertion of claims against employers
  • Advising companies on the structuring and organization of a remuneration system
  • Representation before the court of arbitration of the German Patent and Trademark Office
  • Drawing up expert reports on questions of remuneration and on the valuation of employee inventions
  • Assessing university inventions
  • Assessing free inventions
  • Advising and representing companies in the assertion of claims based on proposals for technical improvement

CONTRACT LAW

Contract law is of considerable importance in the field of industrial property protection, particularly when entitlements to use property rights are granted on the basis of a contract. To this end, there are many different forms of contractual provision largely depending on the particular case. Restrictive practices regulations always have to be observed and complied with when drawing up contractual provisions.

Services we provide:

  • Licences
  • Assessing licences in terms of cartel law/antitrust law
  • Representation in licence negotiations
  • Trademark delimitation agreements
  • Settlement agreements for dispute resolution
  • Intellectual property right sales agreements
  • Intellectual property right trust agreements
  • Cooperation agreements
  • Confidentiality agreements
  • Developement agreements
  • Agreements on the security deposition of intellectual property rights

ATTORNEYS

HUBERT STIPPL

Patent attorney since
1988

Licences
German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA)
Federal Patent Court (BPATG)
European Patent Office (EPA)
admitted at Unified Patent Court (UPC)
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)

Studies
Material sciences at Erlangen-Nuremberg University (Dipl.-Ing.)

Scientific activities
École Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Schweiz

Memberships
AIPPI, FICPI, EPI, German Patent Attorneys’ Association

Specialisms

  • All areas of mechanics, chemistry and physical engineering
  • Optical systems and materials
  • Measuring systems, electronic devices, semiconductors
  • Communication technology, display technology
  • Hydraulic devices
  • Plastics engineering and process engineering
  • Standard-Essential Patents (SEP)

SUSANNE FÖRSTER

Patent attorney since
2000
(under contract of employment)

Licences
German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA)
Federal Patent Court (BPATG)
European Patent Office (EPA)
admitted at Unified Patent Court (UPC)
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)

Studies
Material sciences at Erlangen-Nuremberg University (Dipl.-Ing.)

Memberships
AIPPI, FICPI, EPI, German Patent Attorneys’ Association

Specialisms

  • All areas of mechanics, chemistry and physical engineering
  • Materials
  • Measuring systems
  • Communication technology
  • Hydraulic devices
  • Plastics engineering and process engineering

NEWS

Brexit Update 2021

After the UK has formally left the EU and the implementation…

UK will no longer participate in the Unified Patent Court and in the Unitary Patent

The UK will no longer participate in the Unified Patent Court…

JOB OFFER

REFERENCES

These partners have been working with us in a spirit of trust for years:

CONTACT AND DIRECTIONS

Stippl Patentanwälte

Freiligrathstr. 7a
D-90482 Nürnberg

Fon: +49-(0)911-50641-0
Fax: +49-(0)911-50641-99
E-Mail: office@stippl-ip.de

Parking spaces are available on the open space next to the office premises. Just follow the road and drive left next to the entrance to the underground car park. There you will find the marked parking spaces.

Public transport

  • Bus line 40, 45 and 65
  • Streetcar line 5
  • S-Train line 1
  • Stop Mögeldorf