Apply for a patent

Procedure

A patent is not automatically granted when you file an application with the DPMA. A patent can only be granted once your invention has successfully passed the statutory examination procedure.

You can apply for the grant of a patent in writing or electronically. If you wish to submit the application in writing:

• Print out the application for the grant of a patent, complete it and submit it to the DPMA together with the required documents.
• Transfer the application fees.
• If you have also included the examination of the application in the request, also transfer the examination fee.
• Your application will now be examined for compliance with the formal requirements and obvious grounds for refusal. In addition, your invention will be classified according to its substantive content in a classification scheme (International Patent Classification IPC).
• Then file the request for examination and pay the examination fee. You can also file the request for examination in the application for the grant of a patent by ticking the appropriate box. Otherwise, you can also send an informal letter to the DPMA (paper, fax, "DPMAdirektPro" service). You have seven years from the filing date to file the request for examination. However, to maintain your application, you must pay renewal fees from the third patent year onwards.
• If you wish, you can also file a fee-based search request for your application before filing your request for examination. In this case, the protectability of your invention will be assessed and substantiated in a detailed search report, which also contains the documents that may be relevant for examining the patentability of your invention.
• If you have filed a request for examination for your application, a patent examiner will then examine the prior art relevant to your invention and, if necessary, grant a patent.
• If your invention does not meet the requirements or your application has other deficiencies, you will be informed of this in an office action.
• You can then comment and correct the deficiencies. It is important to note that all amendments must be within the scope of the description of your invention submitted on the filing date.
• Your patent application will remain secret for 18 months, after which it will be published in the so-called "Offenlegungsschrift". The publication is published regardless of whether you have filed a request for examination.
• If a patent is granted, the grant is published in the Patent Gazette. It can also be searched in the "DEPATISnet" and "DPMAregister" databases.
• A granted patent is effective for a maximum of 20 years, starting on the day after the application is filed. In order to maintain patent protection, you must pay annual fees for each patent and each application from the beginning of the third year.
• Your patent can be challenged by third parties - either by opposition or by an action for revocation

If you want to apply for your patent electronically:

• You can use the free "DPMAdirektPro" software for your application. You cannot apply for a patent by e-mail.
• Download the software and follow the instructions.
• Transfer the application fee and, if applicable, the examination fee without being asked to do so.
• The rest of the procedure is the same as for the written application.

Legal bases

• §§ 1 bis 17 Patentgesetz (PatG)

More information

• Payment of the application fee: within 3 months of receipt of the application. Without payment, the application is deemed to be withdrawn.
• Filing of the technical description, the patent claims and, if applicable, the drawings: together with the application
• Filing of the abstract and the designation of the inventor: within 15 months of the filing date
• Filing the request for examination: 7 years from the filing date. Renewal fees must be paid from the third patent year.
• Payment of the search request fee: within 3 months of receipt of the search request
• Payment of the examination request fee: within 3 months of receipt of the examination request
• Opposition to the grant of the patent: within 9 months of publication of the grant of the patent in the Patent Gazette
• Payment of the renewal fee: unsolicited at the beginning of the third and each subsequent year, calculated from the filing date. If you do not pay the renewal fee on time or in full, the patent will lapse.