Legal protection granted in a given country for intellectual property rights such as patents, industrial designs and trademarks does not automatically extend to the territories of other countries.
A fundamental rule of intellectual property law is the principle of territoriality. Issues of the existence and scope of protection, as well as the subject of the right holder, which have been regulated in one country are irrelevant to the legal situation of the protection of intellectual property rights in other countries. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to find a situation where even legally protected products are unlawfully reproduced and implemented in the marketplace. If a product is protected, we can enforce our intellectual property rights in court or obtain compensation for our losses.
Preparing for a trade fair appearance in Germany
Regardless of whether a company is already in a legal dispute with another entrepreneur or not, awareness of one’s own rights and the relatively early legal protection of one’s own company should be an integral part of the preparation for a trade fair appearance on the German market. The following steps can be helpful here:
Registering patents
Registering a patent, utility model, design or trademark with the German Patent Office (DPMA), the European Patent Office (EPO), the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) or the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Examination of patent infringements under German law
When preparing to participate in a trade fair, it is also important to verify whether there are proprietary intellectual property rights in the German market that may be infringed by your goods at the fair.
Documentation of the legal situation
It is also extremely important to document your legal position by compiling all documents that confirm your own rights to the product you are presenting. This includes, above all, the decisions of the above-mentioned authorities on the registration of property rights. You should also have these documents with you at the trade fair.
Specialist lawyer for industrial property protection
If you have legal problems, it can also be helpful to consult a specialist lawyer for industrial property protection. This lawyer should be available for the entire duration of the trade fair.
Letter of protection (Schutzbrief)
Another way to protect your rights against possible accusations from other entrepreneurs is to file a so-called protective letter (Schutzbrief) with a German court. This protects you against third-party claims, especially during the trade fair.
Evidence
If you come into conflict with another entrepreneur before the trade fair (e.g. if you suspect that your product is being copied), you should provide evidence to support your suspicions. This may include photos, witness statements or other relevant documents. Documents that prove your rights are also extremely important.
Guidelines during the trade fair
Two types of disputes can arise at trade fairs. The first is when your goods are illegally imitated or your intellectual property rights are unlawfully infringed. The second type of dispute arises when there is a suspicion that your goods infringe the industrial property rights of third parties or imitate their goods.
Your goods are imitated or your industrial property rights are infringed.
In these cases, you can take measures such as writing to the infringer to cease and desist, taking legal action and applying for an injunction or contacting the customs office.
It is also important to bring documents with you that confirm the rights to the products presented at the trade fair. These documents will be required if you decide to take the above legal action.
Suspicion that your goods imitate or infringe third-party intellectual property rights
During the trade fair, you may also suspect that you are imitating someone else’s product or infringing the intellectual property rights of a third party. In this case, it can be very helpful to file a protective letter with the court in advance or to contact the other party via your lawyer in order to reach an agreement.
It should be noted in particular that a preliminary injunction has immediate legal effect, regardless of whether an objection is lodged or not. If this injunction is violated, the court can impose a heavy fine. The injunction is often combined with an application for confiscation of the goods exhibited at the stand.
Infringement of criminal law
In many cases, infringements of industrial property rights are also criminal offences. This means that if the other party has filed a criminal complaint, it is possible that officials from the public prosecutor’s office, the police or the customs authorities will appear at the stand to search it or confiscate the exhibited goods.
Grau Rechtsanwälte PartGmbB offers legal support in the field of commercial law, ranging from corporate and commercial law, distribution law and labour law to insolvency law and debt management.
If you have any further questions, please contact our law firm on +49 (0) 40 180 364 020 or office@graulaw.eu.
