Legal boost for start-ups: Start up - Technology protection, patents & contracts

07 August 2020

What are the most important legal principles you should be aware of when doing or setting up business in Germany? All will be explained - short and simple - from foundation to protection of intellectual property, important (company) contracts, financing and data protection and beyond in our webinar series "Legal Boost for Start-Ups".

The second webinar START UP - Technology protection, patents & contracts focused on patents, the protection of technology and questions around contracts.

In our second webinar of the series, our cooperation partner Daniel Donhauser from LawUp explained the main features of a contractual set-up, consisting of GbR / shareholder agreement, purchase contracts, employee contracts, general terms and conditions and data protection declaration. It is important to draw up a partnership agreement and to conclude confidentiality agreements (NDA) at the beginning. The importance of confidentiality agreements is particularly evident when looking at patenting your innovation - and not only when you enter into cooperations or are looking for investors. Because, as our Munich partner Thomas Mayer and Munich senior associate Jonathan Konietz explained: In order to register a patent, the underlying invention must under no circumstances be known to the public beforehand - for example through lectures, essays or in any other way. As soon as the invention has become public knowledge, it is no longer new and a patent application is no longer possible. Errors or negligence on the subject of confidentiality can therefore have serious consequences. This is a reason for us to go into more detail on the protection of business secrets in the fourth appointment on 3rd September. Regarding the importance of patents, Jonathan Konietz pointed out not only the 20-year monopoly position but also its importance as the basis for economic success and as a mirror of a company's innovative strength. Patents are often the prerequisite for an investment by a third party.

Finally, employee contracts shows how closely contract law and IP law can go hand in hand, especially with regard to regulations for employee inventions. Legal advice is therefore invaluable, because the key to contracts is the clear formulation of the clauses. It is best to not rely on standard templates from the Internet. Legal assistance is particularly indispensable when applying for a patent, as the smallest detail in the presentation of the patented news is often important.

You can find the presentations (in German) here. Our speakers will be happy to answer any questions or to provide further information.

Want to learn more about unfair competition? Read the summary of our third webinar.


NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Information made available on this website in any form is for information purposes only. It is not, and should not be taken as, legal advice. You should not rely on, or take or fail to take any action based upon this information. Never disregard professional legal advice or delay in seeking legal advice because of something you have read on this website. Gowling WLG professionals will be pleased to discuss resolutions to specific legal concerns you may have.

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