The United States of America is considered a country of unlimited potential. In the USA, every individual has the vested right under the constitution to the pursuit of happiness. Many internationally renowned US conglomerates began with an invention in a garage or backyard. On account of its enormous economic power, the USA is one of the most important business partners in the world for many German and European companies. But if you want to do business in the USA, not only do you need significant financial resources but also a thorough understanding of the US legal system. US patent law is still considerably different from that in Europe. Since the mid 1990s, when a trend towards harmonisation was set in motion by the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement, US patent law has been revised several times. For example, US patent applications are now published and they now have a 20-year term. There are inter partes proceedings for examining granted patents and the concept of novelty has been amended. Yet there are still certain particularities of US patent law, such as the “duty of disclosure” in the grant procedure, the “first to invent” principle and the “grace period”, which need to be properly understood. Moreover, in contrast to European law, US law does not stipulate a technicity requirement for inventions, and therefore business methods can also in principle be patented in the USA.
isarpatent® has been operating in the USA ever since its establishment. Over the years we have continued to expand and enhance our network of well-respected law firms in the United States. As a result, we are able to work closely with internationally renowned US law firms that specialise in a wide variety of technical fields, both in prosecution matters, i.e. from the filing of applications for IP rights through to their registration, and in litigation matters, i.e. the enforcement of IP rights before the courts. Our clients benefit enormously from our successful and long-standing collaborations with these US law firms.
The services we offer with respect to North America include support in all matters relating to patent, design, and trade mark protection as well as technical and legal translations from or into English. One of our specialities is our ability to draft patent applications in the US style, that is to say taking into account the formal requirements and legal conventions of the US patent system.
Our team in the North America Department Oliver Hassa, Franz Stangl, Dr. Christoph Hecht and Wolfgang Sandmann will be happy to answer any questions you may have in this regard.
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