The company is in a good position, it has a patent for ...” Such or similar sentences can frequently be read in the business press, why? A patent is a monopoly right which gives the proprietor of the patent a right that only the proprietor may use the invention protected by the patent. The proprietor can also decide to grant a licence to the patent to a third party and receive income for this in the form of licence fees.

Trademarks have a great influence on us all. No matter whether we are purchasing a product from daily life or need a new washing machine, we search for a product with the trademark which we are already familiar with and with which we have had good experiences.

The utility model protects the technical features of an invention similarly to the patent which has the result that a utility model and a patent are frequently similar in structure. The protection requirements of the utility model are also similar to those of the patent. The utility model is therefore frequently designated as the small patent although there are significant differences from the patent.

Products are frequently shaped by means of the purely technically determined design in order to set the product apart from technically comparable other products. Ultimately it is the design which gives the consumer a first impression which the consumer feels addressed to him personally and this can be decisive for the purchase of the product.