of the copied goods to the right to demand the return of the goods or to have them destroyed. The owner is also entitled to information, accounting, and compensation claims, claims which often impose a heavy burden on the infringer. The claims are usually at first asserted with a cease-and-desist-letter and if the infringer does not comply this letter is followed by a preliminary injunction proceeding in case of urgency or by way of legal action before a competent court. Under German law, there is a so-called cost reimbursement award, i.e. the unsuccessful party must pay all legal fees (including those of the opposing party) and court costs. If there has been an infringement of my IP rights or the imitation of my product, what are my options? Product piracy always occurs when a product infringes intellectual property rights. This involves trademark rights, patent rights, utility models or designs, which are usually registered in the relevant registers. A special case is copyright, which is not a registered right but arises through the creation of the work. Owners of these property rights have various claims, ranging from the prohibition of the production and sale 26 LAWYER MONTHLY DECEMBER 2023 About Stumpf Patentanwälte As a specialized IP boutique, we advise and represent companies of all types and sizes, from start-ups to medium-sized and large companies in the field of intellectual property. We focus on trademark, patent, design and copyright law as well as competition law. We offer many years of experience, in-depth know-how in IP law and an international network that has grown and proven itself over the years. In our firm, patent attorneys and attorneys-at-law work hand in hand to guarantee clients comprehensive support in IP law. “The law firm Stumpf Patentanwälte PartGmbB has its headquarters in Stuttgart, a city in the south of Germany in the Baden-Württemberg region – well known as the home of Mercedes and Porsche.” “According to the Innovation Atlas 2023 published by the German Economic Institute (IW), the greater Stuttgart area is the most innovative region in Germany. The automotive industry and the many metal and electrical companies are attractive for welltrained specialists, spending on research and development has increased since 2013 and ‘nowhere else in Germany are so many patents registered’.”
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