Intellectual Property: Protect and Leverage Your Innovations

Patents are granted only for inventions that are new. To determine novelty, patent offices examine earlier disclosures known as prior art. These can include patents, scientific publications, product documentation, or even public demonstrations. For inventors, understanding prior art is essential before deciding whether filing a patent application makes strategic sense. Read the full guide on what counts as prior art in patent law.

Before investing time and capital into development or filing a patent application, it is essential to determine whether your invention is genuinely new. Many ideas appear innovative at first glance, yet similar solutions may already have been disclosed in patent documents, scientific publications or commercial products. A structured prior art search helps reduce strategic and financial risk by clarifying whether novelty is likely to be present. This page explains how to assess novelty systematically and what sources to consult.

A granted patent only has real value if it can be enforced. Patent enforcement is about understanding what your patent allows you to stop others from doing, but also about recognising the risks involved — including disputes, negotiation, and the possibility that you may unintentionally infringe on existing patents yourself. These enforcement and infringement risks play a crucial role in any patent strategy. This page explains how enforcement works in practice and why these risks should be considered early.

What is the meaning of intellectual property? When you have developed an invention, you may consider patenting it. Patenting an invention belongs legally to the so-called intellectual property law. On this page, we will introduce the conceptual framework of intellectual property law (IP). In addition to patents, this covers Copyright, Design Rights, and Trademark Law, among others. In other words, it covers rights to creations of the human mind. Patents on inventions are the most well-known, but it also includes literary works, names, music, images, symbols, and designs for commercial use. The idea behind intellectual property law is to provide a system and guarantee to reward inventors, authors, and other creative minds for their efforts.

When someone has written a specific text, others are not allowed, according to copyright law, to simply copy and use it. This is even considered a legal offense and is regulated by copyright laws. It's unnecessary to include the copyright symbol to assert copyright protection. Additionally, there's no obligation to register or formally record the texts to enforce copyright. However, certain conditions must be met for a work to qualify for copyright protection.

The Unitary Patent System, which became effective on June 1, 2023, is a European patent that grants protection for your invention across all EU countries participating in the Unitary Patent System with just one granted patent. At its launch, this covered 17 countries. This system eliminates the need for separate patent examinations in each member state because the Unitary Patent automatically provides protection in all participating EU countries upon grant.

Not all intellectual property (IP) protection works the same way—especially when it comes to patents. Many innovators wonder if they can patent an idea without a fully developed invention. While the answer is technically yes, a patent application must include a detailed and concrete description of how the idea works in practice. Patents are granted for inventions, not just concepts. If your innovation is still in the early stages, you may need to refine and document it thoroughly before securing IP protection. Read more on the page about applying for a patent on an idea.

A patent provides protection against unauthorized production, use, storage, and sale of a product, technology, or method by others, without permission from the patent holder. This wrongful act is called patent infringement and constitutes a violation of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The patent grants the patent holder the right to take legal action against such infringements.

Intellectual property litigation is the legal process used to resolve disputes over patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other IP rights. It covers everything from stopping infringement to challenging the validity of someone else's rights, and can involve court proceedings or alternative dispute resolution such as arbitration or mediation.

The abbreviation MTA stands for Material Transfer Agreement. It is a legal contract used in the transfer of research material between two parties, such as universities or research institutions. There is also a similar document for the transfer of data (the DTA) or a combination of both (the MDTA). In many cases, the transferred materials fall under intellectual property rights, such as patents and copyrights. An MTA outlines the conditions under which the transfer takes place, including the rights and obligations of the parties involved, and it governs any restrictions on the use or distribution of the materials.

A Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA). In the world of intellectual property, protecting sensitive information is just as important as securing formal rights like patents or trademarks. One of the most common legal tools for this is the non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also referred to as a Confidentiality Agreement (CDA). These agreements allow individuals or companies to share confidential information while legally preventing others from disclosing it. Because NDAs come in many forms and vary from case to case, it's important to understand what key elements an NDA should contain. On our dedicated page, you'll find an easy-to-follow checklist and a customizable NDA template to help you navigate these agreements with confidence.

Read about the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). This treaty, signed by more than 150 countries, allows a patent to be registered in multiple countries through a single application. This temporarily protects the invention in all participating countries. After registration, the examination process follows, and if the application is approved, the inventor must choose in which countries the patent should be pursued.

Many founders assume that if technology is already published, it cannot be patented anymore. This real startup case shows why that assumption can be misleading. While the underlying research was part of the public domain, the application was still patentable — and someone else moved first. Read how a university secured control through patent strategy and what this teaches about prior art, timing, and ownership in intellectual property.