Entrepreneurship in IT and Maths – Intellectual Property & Patents (03 Jun 2025)

Vocabulary flashcards covering core terms, legal concepts and processes related to intellectual property, patents and commercialization as discussed in the lecture.

Intellectual Property (IP)

Intangible creations of the human intellect (e.g., inventions, literary works, designs, symbols) that can be legally protected for economic and moral benefit.

Industrial Property Rights (IPR)

Subset of IP giving exclusive rights over commercially valuable creations such as patents, utility models, designs and trademarks.

Patent

Examined, territorial right that protects a technical invention (product, process or apparatus) for up to 20 years, provided it is new, inventive and industrially applicable.

Utility Model (Gebrauchsmuster)

Unexamined German right for technical inventions (excluding processes) lasting up to 10 years; requires novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability with a 6-month grace period.

Design Patent (Geschmacksmuster/Design)

Right protecting the aesthetic appearance of functional items (e.g., packaging, icons) for up to 25 years, based on novelty and originality.

Trade Mark ®

Registered (or well-known) sign—word, logo, 3-D shape, sound, colour—distinguishing goods/services; unlimited protection if renewed every 10 years and genuinely used.

Copyright (Urheberrecht)

Automatic, unregistered right protecting original literary, artistic and software works for 70 years post-mortem; non-transferable but inheritable.

Patent Marketing Agency (PVA)

Regional office (e.g., at Saarland University) that evaluates, protects and commercialises university inventions, interfacing inventors, attorneys and industry.

Professors’ Privilege

Pre-2002 German rule letting professors own their university inventions; abolished by the 2002 reform of the Employee Invention Act.

German Employee Invention Act (ArbNErfG)

Law governing ownership of employee inventions; employers may claim rights while inventors receive fair compensation.

Applicant (Patent)

Person or entity that files the patent and holds economic rights; need not be the actual inventor.

Inventor

Individual whose intellectual contribution created the invention; must be named but may assign rights to an employer or applicant.

Prior Art (State of the Art)

All publicly available knowledge before the filing or priority date that can affect novelty and inventive step.

Absolute Novelty

Requirement that an invention has not been disclosed anywhere in the world before the filing or priority date.

Inventive Step

Criterion that the invention is non-obvious to a person skilled in the art, based on the prior art.

Industrial Applicability

Requirement that an invention can be made or used in any kind of industry, excluding purely medical or diagnostic methods applied on the body.

Computer-Implemented Invention (CII)

Invention in which at least one feature is realised by software; patentable if it delivers a further technical effect beyond normal software–hardware interaction.

Grace Period (US only)

Time window (typically 12 months) after public disclosure during which a U.S. patent can still be filed; absent in Germany/EPO.

Patent Specification

Complete patent document comprising front page, abstract, description, drawings and claims that define the legal scope of protection.

Claims

Numbered statements in a patent specification that legally delimit the invention’s scope and enforceable rights.

Disclosure (Invention Report)

Formal notification by an employee-inventor to the employer describing the invention in text form, triggering employer options under ArbNErfG.

Appropriate Compensation

Payment due to employee-inventors (e.g., 30 % of gross licensing revenue at universities) for assigned invention rights.

Territoriality Principle

Patents are enforceable only in the countries where they are granted; separate applications or regional routes (e.g., EPO) are required.

European Patent Convention (EPC)

Treaty establishing the European Patent Organisation and common substantive patent law (e.g., Article 52 on patentable inventions).

Article 52 EPC

Provision stating that European patents are granted for inventions that are new, involve an inventive step and are industrially applicable, while listing non-inventions (e.g., programs for computers as such).

Seven Deadly Sins of the Inventor

Common pitfalls such as premature disclosure, lack of novelty, over-complex solutions, ignoring market need, overestimating value, secrecy bias and incomplete problem analysis.

Prohibitive Right

Legal power conferred by a patent to stop others from making, using or selling the patented invention without consent.

Patent License

Contractual permission allowing a third party to use a patented invention under agreed terms while the patentee retains ownership.

License Agreement

Legal document specifying the scope, territory, duration, royalties and conditions under which a patent or other IP can be used.

Screening for Transfer Potential

PVA activity assessing whether a university invention has patentability, market value and industrial applicability worth pursuing.

Non-Registered Rights

IPR such as copyrights, trade secrets or academic know-how that arise automatically without formal registration.

Registered Rights

IPR (patents, designs, trademarks) obtained only after formal application and registration at an office.

Nice Classification

International system of 45 classes used to categorise goods and services when registering trademarks.

Patent Databases (Espacenet, DEPATISnet, etc.)

Free online tools for searching worldwide patent literature, essential for prior-art checks and competitive intelligence.

Concept of Reward (IP)

Rationale that society grants exclusive rights to innovators as a reward and incentive for public disclosure of new creations.

Concept of Disclosure (IP)

Exchange where inventors publish technical details in return for temporary monopolies, enabling public knowledge growth.

Intellectual Property as ‘21st-Century Oil’

Metaphor highlighting the economic value of IP assets in modern innovation-driven economies.