F.A.Q. intellectual property rights

Which intellectual property rights do I need to register and which ones do I not?

Rights that require registration:

For trademarks, designs, and patents, registration is necessary to obtain exclusive rights.

Rights that arise automatically:

Rights such as copyright, database rights, and neighboring rights arise automatically as soon as the legal conditions are met. This also applies to the unregistered Community design. An unregistered Community design offers—provided the legal conditions are met—temporary protection for new designs that have been made public in the European Union. The protection is valid for a period of three years.

Trade name rights:

Trade name rights arise through the actual use of the trade name in economic transactions. Although registration with the Chamber of Commerce is not mandatory, it can help to strengthen your rights.

What forms of intellectual property protect my website?

A website can be protected by various intellectual property rights:

Copyright: The design and visual elements of the website, such as images, illustrations, and unique layouts, may be protected by copyright. The software on which your website runs may also be protected by copyright.

Trademark law: The domain name and/or logo of the website can be protected as a trademark, provided it has distinctive character.

Design law: The design of specific graphic elements or the unique interface of the website can be protected under design law, provided they are new and have their own character.

Database rights: If the content of the website is systematically organized in a database, for example a product catalog or data collection, it may be protected under database rights.

Patent rights: Innovative technological applications or unique functions within the website may be eligible for patent protection.

Is intellectual property a limited right?

No, intellectual property is not a limited right in the legal sense of the word. In private law, a “limited right” has a specific meaning: it is a right that rests on another right and thus limits the powers of the owner of that principal right. Examples of this are a mortgage or a right of easement.

The confusion with IP rights sometimes arises because the term “limited” is used informally to indicate that IP rights are not unlimited. However, these “limitations” have nothing to do with the legal meaning of a limited right, but refer to certain characteristics of IP rights, such as:

Temporality: IP rights often have a limited duration, for example 20 years for patents.

Exceptions: There are situations in which IP rights are not completely exclusive, such as the right to quote in copyright law.

Territoriality: Protection only applies within the regions where the right is registered or recognized.

Is portrait rights intellectual property?

Portrait rights are not considered an independent intellectual property right, but they are covered by copyright law. It is a personality right that derives from the right to privacy. If a portrait is made without the consent of the person portrayed, it may not be made public by the creator or a third party if the person portrayed has a reasonable interest in preventing such publication.

At the same time, a portrait can also be protected by copyright as an original work. In that case, the creator of the portrait has copyright on the work, but these rights are limited by the portrait rights of the person portrayed, which can prevent the portrait from being made public without permission. This underlines the close connection between portrait rights, copyright, and the right to privacy.