“Digital patents are worth their weight in gold” – article by Dr. Felix Hermann and Dr. Daniel Herrmann in the magazine “Der Mittelstand”

In the age of IoT (Internet of Things), AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Industry 4.0, even medium-sized companies cannot avoid corresponding digital innovations. The protection of these innovations should not be neglected, is the advice of BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT partners and patent attorneys Felix Hermann (Munich) and Dr. Daniel Herrmann (Frankfurt a. Main) in their article for the magazine “Der Mittelstand”. After all, with digital solutions developed in-house, SME can also create new corporate values and growth for the company.

It is true that the patenting of software-based innovations – and these are mostly what is at issue here – is a challenge due to strict regulations for computer-implemented inventions in European and German patent law. However, if the software is used in the context of solving a technical task in a technical field, it can be protected by patents. In this case, the software makes a technical contribution and thus acquires the “technical character” necessary for patenting.

The complete article in German can be read in “Der Mittelstand”, issue 2/2023, on page 59. The magazine is available for download as a PDF here.