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Enforcement of ip-rights
After having build up an ip-portfolio, a monopol position is earned to exclude any third party from the use of the technical subject matter claimed by this protection right. However, there are situations in which a competitor is not willing to respect these ip-rights or to accept an offered iicense agreement - and sometimes rightly so!
This is the beginning of a dispute leading from a warning letter, a cease and desist letter, a request for preliminary injunctions or a legal action to very special legal proceedings in Germany.
In Germany, the courts of the ordinary juristdiction (District Court, Higher Regional Court, Federal Supreme Court) decide on the question on infringement - without questioning the validity of the patent in suit. Questions of validity have to be dealt with before the courts of the patent jurisdiction (Federal Patent Court, Federal Supreme Court or the respective opposition division of the EPO). Thus, the litigation of a patent in Germany takes place before two different courts and there will be two different decisions: one with respect to infringement of the patent and one with respect to the validity of this patent.
DTS is specialized on conducting the proceedings in both arenas, the infringement proceedings and the validity proceedings (opposition before the EPO, nullity actions before the GFPC). Further, DTS coordinates litigation in other countries according to the strategy developed with the client in order to enforce the ip-portfolio in the most effective way.
Naturally, DTS also offers all services connected to the enforcement of ip-rights such as:
- coordinating investigations on possible infringement by third parties
- monitoring the patent activity of third parties
- searching ip-rights of third parties
- conducting searches of prior art
- opinion on (in-) validity of ip-rights and/ or on (non-) infringement
- drafting licence agreements
- negotiating settlement agreements
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