A patent establishes important conditions in ensuring that an invention generates revenue and that the inventor receives a share of the profits, as it establishes an officially verified industrial property right over and against third parties, ensures that the patent is honored, and serves as a possible defense against patent infringements.

• The legal protection of research results serves as an indicator for research output and thus a key factor in successfully acquiring third-party funding.
• Licensing agreement
• Selling the patent
• Commercialization through founding a start-up

• Typically, you start the process by claiming the right of priority when filing a German or European patent application.
• You then have a maximum of twelve months to protect additional information under the patent.
• By filing an international patent application (under the Patent Cooperation Treaty or PCT), you can gain another 18 months until the final selection of countries in which the patent will be disclosed.
• That is why a specific opportunity for commercial exploitation should usually be established within 30 months, as the different patent examination processes tend to incur high costs in each individual country and region.
• The patent and attorney costs are borne by the university.

• The inventors receive remuneration amounting to 30 percent of the (gross) revenue generated from commercial exploitation (Section 42 of the German Employee Inventions Act).
• The total inventor remuneration is split between several inventors according to their proportional contribution to the invention.
• After the inventor remuneration has been paid out, the university first uses the remaining funds to refinance external costs, especially patent registration costs and costs associated with the maintenance and commercial exploitation of patents (e.g., external agencies).
• The remaining revenue is split between the central university administration of Freie Universität Berlin and the inventor’s working group (50:50 share).

• The term “intellectual property” (or “IP” for short) typically concerns the rights to something that an individual creates using their mind or that is otherwise intangible.
• Intellectual property is protected by means of industrial property rights (patents, utility models, registered designs, brands, designs) and by means of copyrights (for expertise, research outcomes, art, literature).

• Discoveries, scientific theories, and mathematical methods as such are not patentable according to Section 1 of the German Patent Act.
• Schemes, rules, and methods for performing mental acts, playing games, or doing business as well as programs for computers as such are not patentable according to German patent law.
• However, a piece of software can be patentable under certain circumstances, especially if it produces an additional technical effect when run on a computer that goes beyond the “normal” physical interaction between software and hardware (exception to Article 52.2 and 52.3 of the European Patent Convention).
• An individual assessment is necessary in this case.

You can find the answers to this question and many more here:

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• Guidelines on the Protection and Commercialization of Intellectual Property at Freie Universität Berlin
• Our Advisory Services for Inventors at Freie Universität Berlin
• Profund Innovation is the service institution for promoting entrepreneurs and innovations within the Research Division of Freie Universität Berlin.
• The Many Benefits of Registering a Patent through PULS

• Patent and Licensing Service Team