DE

Logo of the German Ministry of Justice

Before entering into force, the Draft Bill needs approval by both houses of the German Parliament. Up to now it is expected that this will hapen well before the next general election which will take place in September next year.

• To reduce the current huge backlog of pending nullification appeal cases ("Nichtigkeitsberufungen"), the German Federal Supreme Court is set to be changed from an instance fully revising factual and legal points to an instance competent substantially only for legal points. Hence, in future there will be only a single instance where facts and evidence can be presented, the Federal Patents Court ("Bundespatentgericht"). The court system will simply be cut back by eliminating the option of presenting fresh  facts and evidence during appeal in patent nullification cases;
• Improvements concerning the legal basis for implementation of electronic workflows in throughout the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, the Federal Patents Court as well as the Federal Supreme Court;
• Cancellation of a current provision of German Patent Act according to which any person who has brought an infringement action may bring a further action against the defendant on account of the same or a similar act on the basis of another patent only if, through no fault of his own, he was not in a position to assert that patent also in the earlier suit.
• Broadening of the Opposition procedure in German Trade Mark Law; also non-registered elder rights shall be eligible as a basis for a Notice of Opposition;
• Reform of the German Act on Employees' inventions ("Arbeitnehmererfindungsgesetz") by introducing a legal fiction to the effect that claiming by the employer of an invention made by an employee is assumed per default.

Of course, as the reader easily will recognise, in Germany a legislative initiative titled "Bill for Unification and Modernisation of Patent Law" nevertheless usually comprises articles changing other areas of law. In this case Trade Mark Law is also affected as well as the Act on Utility Models, the Act on Protection of Semiconductor Circuits, and the Act on Design Protection.