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Our services include consulting and supporting our clients in all matters of intellectual and industrial property including issues concerning license rights, continuous monitoring and - if required - consequent defense of property right portfolios. Besides the representation in ordinary courts, including injunction procedures, nullity and cancellation proceedings, we provide continuous and comprehensive service in the fight against product piracy and counterfeiting, including border seizures and intervention at national and international trade fairs.
For this purpose we have established a network - over many years – and are cooperating with investigating authorities, trade organizations and renowned partner law firms in other countries . Our actions are always governed by the economic interest of our client. Therefore, we always consider on an out-of-court solution - as an alternative to a potential judicial enforcement of intellectual and industrial property rights – which we ensure by

It's the detail that counts. Special diligence and knowledge of current decisions are of major importance in drafting of contracts.

DR. J. LACHNIT
PARTNER
means of appropriate coexistence and delimination agreements. We constitute the „outsourced“ legal IP department for many of our clients which are mainly medium-sized businesses. Therefore, it is our job to actively contribute to timely establish appropriate protective rights for our clients in the required countries at the right moment. In order to achieve this goal, we develop - for and in particular in cooperation with our clients - appropriate strategies for application, monitoring, commercial deployment and defense.
Due to our experience and the methods and tools developed by us we can handle even complex intellectual property portfolios, and establish structures so that requirements defined by our client become immediately evident; any necessary adaptions can be identified and efficiently realized.

You are strong with strong partners.
We represent your ideas with commitment and reliability.

We represent you in the following areas:
  • Patent law
  • Utility model law
  • Trademark law
  • Design law
  • Unfair competition law
  • Copyright law
  • Domain law
  • Product piracy
  • Border seizure
  • Law of employees' inventions
  • License law

Patent Law

In today’s highly competitive markets, patents are indispensable in securing a company’s innovative edge.

In legal respects, patents protect new and inventive technical developments which are susceptible of industrial application, and give the patent holder exclusive rights to their inventions and ideas.

We provide support to inventors and
research and development departments of companies and protect their ideas, technical developments and innovations by filing patent applications with national and international offices at the appropriate time. We then represent our client’s interests – always in close collaboration with the client - during the patent granting process and, if necessary, in subsequent opposition proceedings.
After the patent has been granted, our services include the maintenance, monitoring, utilization and consistent defense of the patent. Besides nullity and infringement proceedings, we fight for our client’s rights in ordinary courts in opposition and injunction proceedings. We also handle any written correspondence such as cease-and-desist warning letters prior to court action.

Utility Model Law

Utility models - similar to patents - protect a company’s innovative edge which is indispensable in numerous competitive areas. Often utility models can be a valuable alternative or addition to patent protection, not least due to the grace period existing for utility models – in contrast to patents, which allows protection by a utility model after publication or release of an invention, for which patent protection does not allow.

In legal respects, utility models
protect technical inventions which are new, based on an inventive step, and susceptible of industrial application. The utility model owner has an exclusive rights to the protected utility model.

In contrast to patents, a utility model registration cannot protect a method. Utility model applications are filed with the Patent Office; however, there is no extensive examination procedure associated with a final grant; utility model applications are simply registered. The protection of a utility model
is limited to a maximum of 10 years.

We at RLTG will give our clients a detailed analysis of all the advantages and particularities of a utility model registration, with a particular focus on the protection strategy wished and required by the client. For the benefit of our clients, we assist with the definition, implementation and utilization of a targeted protective rights portfolio, including consistent defense and enforcement of utility models.

Trademark Law

The value of strong brands cannot be overestimated. The success of a product or service and the respective company behind it is crucially dependent upon the brand.

In legal respects, trademarks and commercial designations constitute exclusive rights which benefit one precisely determined entitled party. Specializing in the protection of intellectual and industrial property, we cover the entire range of trademark law.
Our services include consulting and support of trademark conceptualization, application, utilization and the legal defense of established trademark portfolios nationally and internationally. Prior to trademark registration and during establishment we will conduct required research to secure trademark protection.
Working in close cooperation with specialized agencies in trademark evaluation, we can assist with everything from name finding and logo development through consistent trademark enforcement both in Germany and abroad.

Design Law

In highly competitive markets, the design of a product constitutes a decisive purchase criteria, and at the same time it is a clear brand recognition feature. Good and individual design allows differentiation in the market and may assist companies in achieving decisive competitive advantages.

In legal respects, a design protects the two- or three-dimensional shape of an entire product or a portion thereof in aesthetic regards,
and gives the owner exclusive subjective rights.

We at RLTG advice and assist our clients regarding concept, application, use and defense of a design on a national and international level by establishing individual design portfolios. Prior and during the establishment we conduct researches required for securing design rights. This commences with the development of a design in close cooperation with specialized agencies and our client,
and terminates with the consistent enforcement of design rights in Germany and abroad. It goes without saying that we likewise advise our clients regarding so-called non-registered community designs, and if required we will enforce property rights both in and out of court.

Unfair Competition Law

Business competition and rivalry are requisite and necessary features of free economies and markets, an expression of free commercial activity, driving force of economic progress, characterizing the relationship of market participants in a capital economy. Developing and maintaining free and fair commercial competition requires the implementation of accompanying legal measures which are realized – not exclusively but decisively - by the unfair competition law.
The law for unfair competition (German: UWG) serves to protect competitors, consumers and other market participants from unfair business practices. In addition, it protects the general public’s interest in undistorted competition. The law for unfair competition is a powerful tool for market participants to protect themselves against unfair competition practices. It allows proceedings against deceptive advertising, aggressive business methods,
unauthorized product imitations in cases of deception of origin and exploitation of reputation.

We advise and assist our clients over the entire range of unfair competition issues, and enforce their rights, if required, consistently, both in and out of court.

Copyright Law

Copyright laws ensure legal protection for authors of their creative work.

In legal respects, the copyright assigns subjective and absolute rights to the author for her/his creation. The author of literary work, science or art obtains copyright protection for her/his work and thus for her/his personal intellectual creation. The copyright protects the author
in her/his intellectual and personal relations to her/his creation and use of her/his creation. The creation of copyright does not require an application but commences with the creation of the respective work. Thus, obtaining protection by copyright is not tied to
procedures, formalities, applications, official examinations, grant or registrations.

We assist our clients with advice and experience in all relevant aspects regarding copyright, out of court and also in court.

Domain Law

The electronic era makes the presentation of companies and their products and services on the internet a must and highly relevant. Therefore, we pay special attention to the design and defense of a suitable domain portfolio.

In legal respects, a domain name is defined by an alphanumeric
character (letters, figures, characters) which - by itself - does not qualify for a name protection. However, the name of a domain may qualify for name protection due to the reason of use in the internet according to § 12 German Civil Code (BGB), if the domain name itself has original name function or if the latter was acquired by reputation.
We at RLTG advice our clients by establishing domain portfolios, and assist in the realization of portfolio strategies. As a matter of course we represent our clients in domain litigations, and take action in and out of court, both on a national and international level.

Product piracy

Border seizure

Law of employees' inventions

License law