Patents and standards

What are patents and why are they important?

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First-rate research isn't everything. Research findings and innovative ideas must also be given proper protection. Only then will they be able to penetrate markets and succeed.

• For this reason, we are committed to achieving balanced structures to protect intellectual property rights. This will ensure a balance between the incentive to innovate and society's ability to participate in technological progress.
  
  
• We are working to raise the awareness of the scientific community, industry and the general public regarding the increasingly important role that patents and property rights play in global commerce.
• At the European level, we vigorously advocate the introduction of a simple and low-cost Community patent together with a Community patent jurisdiction.
• We support higher education institutions and research facilities in their efforts to register and exploit R&D findings through the use of competent patenting and licensing agencies.
• We are creating an inventor- and innovation-friendly climate in Germany and support small and medium-sized firms as they use appropriate property rights to safeguard innovative ideas and inventions and develop patent strategies.

Why do we need standards?

We encounter standards in nearly every area of life. Standards define the state of the art in technology, and they stipulate the requirements that products and services must fulfil. They enable systems to function, they assure quality, they create transparency, and they protect consumers. As part of the overall technical code, standards are an integral component of the commercial and legal order and serve as a key reference point for efforts in the areas of occupational safety and environmental protection. They also play a crucial role in expediting the implementation of innovations. They have deregulatory and market-opening effects that serve to enhance Germany's competitiveness as an economic power and as an exporter. For all these reasons, standardisation policy is an integral element of Germany's economic and innovation policies.

The Federal Government's standardisation policy goals are laid down in its standardisation strategy. One of the strategy's key priorities is to use standards as a tool for fostering innovation in targeted fields. To this end, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology has initiated two related projects on "Innovation and standards" and "Transfer of research and development findings via standardisation". In this way, we are contributing to a cohesive and proactive standardisation policy that boosts competition and innovation.