The protection of new developments, inventions, technologies and intellectual property by means of industrial property rights (patents, utility models, copyright, etc.) is hugely important in a knowledge-based information society. It is not just large corporations that can profit immensely from the use of the patent system, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and research institutes can benefit too.

If you wish to exploit technologies, inventions and developments successfully, it is important to protect them under copyright law. Since copyright-protected technologies may not be used commercially by third parties, they enjoy protection against competition. This gives you a significant advantage in the marketplace. Copyright-protected developments also increase the commercial value of businesses and academic institutions and are a basis for successful licensing and collaboration agreements.

Identifying inventions and protecting them early under copyright law represents a challenge for academic institutions and SMEs. Besides having legal and technological expertise it is also necessary to assess the commercial potential of inventions and technologies.