About us
We speak
your language.
We understand your business
Every company, every client and therefore their needs are unique. That's why we take the time to get to know you, your business and your goals, their importance and their value to you. We tailor our advice and services to your needs. The better we know your company, the better we can support you.
Our services
Our
areas of law
We specialise in commercial law and in particular in the field of intellectual property rights (e.g. patents, trademarks and designs) and commercial law.
We represent your matters in the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) and the German courts, as well as in the European Patent Office (EPO), the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) and the Unified Patent Court (UPC).
Patent Law
Patent Law
A patent is a prohibition right. Without the consent of the patent holder, third parties are prohibited from commercially utilising the protected product or process. Commercial use includes everything from production to marketing, distribution, use for own purposes, dispatch and delivery - provided there is a commercial purpose behind it. The patent owner can therefore use the patent to prohibit - or allow, for example in return for a corresponding consideration such as a licence fee.
Trade Mark Law
Trade Mark Law
A trademark is a legally protected sign of origin that serves to identify the goods and services of a company. They serve to distinguish the goods and services of one company from those of other companies.
Registration gives the owner of the trade mark an exclusive right to prohibit third parties from commercially using a sign (the trade mark) that is identical or confusingly similar to the trade mark for identical or similar goods or services and, if necessary, to claim damages for previous acts of use. However, the descriptive use of a sign as an indication of characteristics or properties of goods or services cannot be prohibited in principle (absolute grounds for refusal).
Design Law
Design Law
A design is an industrial property right. It gives its owner an exclusive right to the area of protection. The scope of protection of a design includes the aesthetic appearance (e.g. shape, colour, form). Without the consent of the owner or without exhaustion of design protection, third parties are prohibited from commercially utilising the aesthetic appearance in a certain form. In particular, it is prohibited to manufacture, offer, place on the market, import or export or use a product that contains the design or in which it is used. The design right is exhausted when the product was originally placed on the market by the proprietor of the property right or with his authorisation, and the examination of an infringing act is based on the entire appearance that is visibly reproduced in the design application. This does not depend on identity, but on whether the same overall impression is created for an informed user.
Our Team
Dr. Dirk Dantz
Founder and owner
Dr. Dantz is very familiar with all aspects of industrial property rights and their enforcement due to his many years of experience in C-level positions in an industrial environment.
Based on this experience, he specialises in providing strategic advice to our clients. This always takes into account the respective business model, the company's situation and the competitive environment, as well as on the basis of an IP strategy tailored to the company's objectives and its implementation.
He is also a recognised expert in the...
Dr. Dirk Dantz
Dr. rer. nat. Dipl.-Min.
European Patent Attorney
Frank Stief
Frank Stief is a patent engineer and qualified mineralogist. After completing his studies at the Leibniz University of Hanover, he worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Mineralogy, specialising in crystallography. There he worked in the field of materials research and developed various materials and substances using a wide range of analysis and synthesis methods, e.g. magnetic resonance, optical spectroscopy, X-ray methods and their evaluation.
He later worked as an editor for a daily newspaper and later as a freelance journalist in the science and technology department...
Frank Stief
Patentingenieur und Dipl. Mineraloge
Blog
News /
Insights
Geschäftsgeheimnisse
Im Jahr 2016 hat die EU eine Richtlinie zum Schutz von Geschäftsgeheimnissen erlassen, die nunmehr mit dem „Gesetz zum Schutz von Geschäftsgeheimnissen“ (Kurzform: Geschäftsgeheimnisgesetz – GeschGehG) umgesetzt wurde. Gleichzeitig mit Inkrafttreten dieses Gesetzes am 26.04.2019 sind die Vorschriften der §§ 17 und 18 des „Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb“ (UWG) entfallen, in denen bislang der Verrat von Geschäfts- und Betriebsgeheimnissen geregelt war.
Das „unmögliche“ Softwarepatent
Neu, erfinderisch und gewerblich anwendbar. Dies sind drei Kriterien, denen in Deutschland und Europa eine Erfindung genügen muss, um einen Patentschutz zu erlangen. Diese Bedingungen erfüllt eine Software sicherlich. Der Knackpunkt für eine erfolgreiche Patentanmeldung liegt oft in der mangelnden Technizität einer Software. Patente werden nach deutschem und europäischem Patentrecht „auf allen Gebieten der Technik“ erteilt, nicht jedoch für rein gedankliche Verfahren, z.B. mathematische Berechnungsformeln. Und was ist eine Software anderes als angewandte Mathematik?
KI / AI
3 Milliarden Euro will die Bundesregierung bis 2025 investieren, um Deutschland und Europa in „einen weltweit führenden Standort für KI“ zu verwandeln. So ein Ergebnis einer Klausurtagung des Kabinetts im November 2018.
https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/die-digitalstrategie-de...
Die Bedeutung der KI ist also – na endlich !, ist man versucht ausrufen - auch in der politischen Landschaft Deutschlands angekommen.
