Patentanwaltsgesellschaft: Zulassung beantragen

If you wish to establish a patent law firm in the legal form of a GmbH, you must apply for admission as a patent law firm.

In addition to the GmbH, partner companies, civil law companies, etc. can also be founded. Although these must also comply with the professional requirements (in particular Section 52a of the German Patent Attorney Act), they do not require approval from the competent authority.

Like patent attorneys, the partners of a patent law firm may offer the following activities:

• Advice on inventions, trademarks, designs, know-how, plant variety protection and the like
• Registration of all industrial property rights
• Prosecution of infringements of industrial property rights (unless representation by attorneys-at-law is required)
• Representation before the German Patent and Trademark Office, Federal Patent Court, Federal Plant Variety Office and other international IP authorities
• Representation before the Federal Supreme Court in nullity proceedings.

You can find a detailed list of the activities of patent attorneys on the website of the Chamber of Patent Attorneys.

Requirements:

• The company must be a limited liability company whose corporate purpose is to provide advice and representation in the above-mentioned matters.
• The company may not be involved in associations for the joint practice of the profession.
• The company must be managed responsibly by patent attorneys.
• The managing directors and shareholders must be exclusively members of the Chamber of Patent Attorneys, lawyers, tax consultants, tax agents, auditors and sworn accountants. In addition, members of the patent attorney profession from certain member states of the European Union or other countries may be shareholders. They must be professionally active in the patent law firm.
• The majority of the managing directors, authorized signatories and authorized representatives for the entire business operations, if applicable, must be patent attorneys.
• The majority of shares and voting rights must be held by patent attorneys.
• The independence of the patent attorneys acting as managing directors, authorized signatories or authorized agents must be guaranteed.
• Professional liability insurance with a minimum sum insured of 2.5 million euros per insured event must have been taken out or a provisional cover note must have been issued. The maximum annual benefit for all losses caused in an insurance year must be at least four times the minimum sum insured.
• The name of the company must be "Patentanwaltsgesellschaft".

The required documents are

• completed application, with attachments if applicable
• Copy of the articles of association or certified copy
• Certified copies of the registration certificates of the partners, managing directors, authorized signatories and authorized agents
• Proof of professional liability insurance (minimum sum insured of 2.5 million euros for each insured event) or an original provisional cover note

The registration fee is 1,200.00 euros.

The admission procedure is usually completed within two months of the application being submitted.

The application for admission as a patent law firm must be submitted to the Chamber of Patent Attorneys in Munich.

You can obtain the necessary application form from the competent office to which you also submit the application for admission of the patent law firm.

The Chamber of Patent Attorneys will check whether all the requirements for admission have been met. If the result of the examination is positive, you will receive a certificate of admission of the patent law firm. Admission as a patent law firm becomes effective when the certificate is issued.

Information on the admission of patent law firms is also available from the Chamber of Patent Attorneys.