Germany: Free Consultations providing Guidance and Orientation to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Start-ups

During the PIZnet campaign week in September, the patent information centers in all regions of Germany offer support in dealing with intellectual property

Munich. How can I protect inventions, signs and designs and how can I use them successfully on the market? How can I fight counterfeiting? As part of a nationwide campaign week organised by the association of German patent information centres (PIZnet e.V.), small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups can obtain advice on how to manage and commercially exploit IP rights. The consultations providing guidance and orientation (no legal advice) will take place at sixteen locations of German patent information centres during the week from 19 to 23 September 2022, entitled "IP strategies for SMEs". The concept of the campaign week, developed by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) in cooperation with PIZnet e.V. as part of the EU project VIP4SME, was met with great response in the past four years.

Individual advice for every company

In the course of the campaign week, companies receive free, unbiased and confidential advice on value creation and risk avoidance in dealing with intellectual property (IP). During the consultations of about two hours, experts from the patent information centres provide guidance and orientation by analysing the company-specific IP situation. This particularly concerns IP rights (patents, utility models, trade marks and designs), but also aspects of "soft IP", which includes trade secrets and copyright issues. On this basis, companies receive an initial assessment of their economic opportunities and risks in the field of intellectual property with specific recommendations for action – from individual suggestions for the best use of intellectual property in the company to approaches for strategic competitive advantages.

This year, the consultation sessions that take place during the action week are planned to be held face-to-face, but can also be conducted via video or audio transmission depending on the situation.

It is necessary to make an appointment in advance by phone using the following contact details at the respective regional organiser. Please contact your regional patent information centre:

AACHEN // Patent- und Normenzentrum, Universitätsbibliothek RWTH Aachen University

phone: +49 241 8094480, e-Mail pnz@ub.rwth-aachen.de

BREMEN // Patentinformationszentrum Bremen, InnoWi GmbH

phone: +49 421 33117010, e-Mail mail@innowi.de

CHEMNITZ // Patentinformationszentrum, Technische Universität Chemnitz

phone: +49 371 53113160, e-Mail piz@tu-chemnitz.de

DARMSTADT // Patent- und Markenzentrum Rhein-Main, Technische Universität Darmstadt

phone: +49 6151 1676500, e-Mail patent-markenzentrum@ulb.tu-darmstadt.de

DORTMUND // Informationszentrum Technik und Patente, Universitätsbibliothek Dortmund

phone: +49 231 7554014, e-Mail itp.ub@tu-dortmund.de

DRESDEN // Patentinformationszentrum, Technische Universität Dresden

phone: +49 351 46335540, e-Mail piz@tu-dresden.de

HANNOVER // EZN Erfinderzentrum Norddeutschland GmbH

phone: +49 511 8503080, e-Mail ezn@ezn.de

ILMENAU // PATON - Landespatentzentrum Thüringen, TU Ilmenau

phone: +49 3677 694505, e-Mail paton@tu-ilmenau.de

KAISERSLAUTERN // Patent- und Informationszentrum Rheinland-Pfalz an der TU Kaiserslautern

phone: +49 631 2053202, e-Mail piz@rti.uni-kl.de

KIEL // Patent- und Markenzentrum, WTSH - Wirtschaftsförderung und Technologietransfer Schleswig-Holstein GmbH

phone: +49 431 66666831, e-Mail schutzrechte@wtsh.de

MAGDEBURG // Patentinformationszentrum und Normen-Infopoint Magdeburg, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität

phone: +49 391-6752979, e-Mail patentinformation@ovgu.de

NÜRNBERG // Patentzentrum Bayern, Bayern Innovativ GmbH

phone: +49 911-20671939, e-Mail patentzentrum@bayern-innovativ.de

ROSTOCK // Patent- und Normenzentrum, Universitätsbibliothek Rostock

phone: +49 381 4988671, e-Mail patente@uni-rostock.de

SAARBRÜCKEN // Patent- und Markenzentrum Saar e.V. (saaris)

phone: +49 681 9520461, e-Mail patentinfo@saaris.de

SCHWERIN // Patentinformationszentrum Schwerin, TBI Technologie-Beratungs-Institut GmbH

phone: +49 385 3993193, e-Mail piz@tbi-mv.de

STUTTGART // Patent und Markenzentrum Baden-Württemberg

phone: +49 711 1232558, e-Mail info@pmz-bw.de

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact Matthias Knöbel, member of the board of PIZnet e.V., at the following contact details:

Dipl.-Ing. Matthias Knöbel

Leiter PIZ

Technische Universität Dresden

Patentinformationszentrum (PIZ)

01062 Dresden

phone: +49 351 463-32791

E-Mail: piz@tu-dresden.de

The German Patent and Trade Mark Office

Inventiveness and creativity need effective protection. The DPMA is the German centre of expertise for all intellectual property rights – patents, utility models, trade marks and designs. As the largest national patent office in Europe and the fifth largest national patent office in the world, our office stands for the future of Germany as a country of inventors in a globalised economy. Its staff of just under 2,800 at three locations – Munich, Jena and Berlin – provide services to inventors and companies. They implement federal innovation strategies and develop the national, European and international protection systems further.

Source: German Patent and Trademark Office

Editor: IPR Daily-Ann