Advisory Services

As an inventor working at a higher education institution you will find that we can offer you ready access to staff who have a thorough scientific basis.  Regardless of the questions that you may have regarding an invention, we have staff members who are skilled in your area of technology available to assist you to make the most out of your invention.  The innovation manager will advise you specifically and personally regarding your invention.  We can provide advice by telephone but are equally happy to meet with you face-to-face either at your place of work or in our offices. 
We will even assist you prior to your lodging a registration of your invention with your employer and, where required, will help you with the drafting of the invention registration that you are required to lodge with your employer under German law.

Form for the Registration of an Invention

Evaluation 

An element of our consultancy service is an initial evaluation of your invention regarding its suitability to be protected by a patent or by some other means as well as its commercial potential. 
Do your research results have all the attributes required to qualify as an invention?  Can your invention be pretected by patents?  What is the likelihood of being able to commercialize your invention?  We carry out searches on commercial databases and provide advice regarding patent protection and the commercialization of inventions.

Patent protection with financial assistance 

Provided that the invention is claimed by your employing university and the likelihood of successfully commercializing the invention is judged to be reasonable by the TLB, we will provide in addition to our know-how and experience the financial resources to fund the patent application process.  We involve external patent attorneys in this process so as to ensure that we can obtain as quickly as possible a broad level of protection for the invention.

Inventions that can be patented and that have sufficient commercial potential will be recommended for immediate patent application by the TLB.  We will develop the patenting strategy and will take care of the funding of the patenting process.

Commercialisation 

As soon as a patent application has been lodged with the patent office, we start the active process of commercialization.  We seek a way for your invention to be brought to the market.  To that end, we develop in consultation with you an individual commercialization strategy.  We search for potential licencee companies and prepare an „invention exposé“ which describes all relevant aspects of the invention and is presented to potential industry partners.  We lead discussions and negotiate contracts.  In general, your invention will be commercialized through a licence agreement or the outright sale of the patent.

We manage the contracts to ensure that all requirements are met so that your invention can establish itself as an innovation in the market place.  What is being achieved through this process is the establishment of a marketable product which benefits the licencee company, but also benefits you as the inventor, as well as your university and the TLB.

New German law governing inventions within universities 

Since the reform introduced in 2001, a higher education institution has the right to claim exclusive ownership of any invention created by one of its employees and to then apply for patents and to commercialize the novel technology product or process.  Unlike under the previous law, there is no longer any distinction made based on the type of position held by the university employee.

For you as the inventor this means that, if your employing university claims the invention for itself, you don’t have to, nor can you, apply for a patent yourself.  The university is under an obligation to do so, once it has claimed an invention.  In return, the inventor has a right to 30% of all revenue that the university generates from the invention.  Patent costs are covered by the university or the TLB.  In this way, you as the inventor can potentially benefit from the invention without having to share in the up-front financial risks inherent in seeking patent protection and undertaking the commercialization of the invention.