Anyone who files a patent application usually wants to know early on: When will it become a granted patent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is no general answer to this question. The duration of a German patent grant procedure depends not only on the processing time at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, but also on the chosen filing strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The DPMA benchmark: around 3.2 years<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the DPMA, the average duration of the patent grant procedure is around 3.2 years (as of 2024). However, this figure refers to an accelerated procedure: the request for examination is filed within the first four months, the examination fee is paid, and no extensions of time are requested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This figure therefore primarily describes the fastest route to grant \u2014 not necessarily the most strategically sensible procedural approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our procedures take longer on average<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n An analysis of our granted German patents shows an average duration of around 6.6 years from filing to grant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This does not contradict the DPMA figures. Many procedures are deliberately managed over time: the request for examination does not have to be filed immediately, but can be submitted up to seven years after the filing date. Even after an examination report, response periods or extensions of time can be used to strategically coordinate the procedure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two considerations are particularly relevant here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1.<\/strong> Time to decide on subsequent filings<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The protection strategy often begins with a German first filing. This secures an early priority date at comparatively low cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A first examination report can provide an important initial assessment of patentability. On this basis, it is easier to decide within the priority year whether, and to what extent, the application should be pursued further \u2014 for example by filing a European patent application or an international PCT application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the meantime, the German procedure often continues in the background. After an examination report, it may be advisable to make full use of the response period or \u2014 where possible \u2014 to request extensions of time. This leaves time to coordinate the German claim wording with parallel EP or PCT proceedings and, where appropriate, to pursue an independent scope of protection for Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2.<\/strong> Flexibility in adapting the scope of protection<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A second important aspect concerns the final scope of protection. As long as the application is pending, the patent claims can still be amended within the limits of the original disclosure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This can be strategically valuable if it only becomes clear at a later stage which technical features are economically particularly relevant or which embodiments competitors actually bring to market. A longer procedure can therefore help to align the protection more precisely with the economically important embodiments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n How long it takes from filing a German patent application to patent grant cannot be answered with a single figure. The DPMA states around 3.2 years for an accelerated procedure. Our own procedures take around 6.6 years on average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The difference is mainly due to the fact that not every procedure is aimed at obtaining grant as quickly as possible. It is often more important that the patent is granted at the right time and with the appropriate scope of protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Anyone who files a patent application usually wants to know early on: When will it become a granted patent?<\/p>\n There is no general answer to this question. The duration of a German patent grant procedure depends not only on the processing time at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, but also on the chosen filing strategy.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[80,639,190,656,650,644,645,643,651,447,631,636,641,640,657,660],"class_list":["post-3306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-unkategorisiert","tag-gewerblicher-rechtsschutz","tag-halbautomatische-abseitserkennung","tag-produktnachahmung","tag-registered-design","tag-registered-designs","tag-schutzrechte-im-sport","tag-sponsoring","tag-sport-und-recht","tag-sports-law","tag-trademarks","tag-trionda","tag-unionsmarke","tag-var-technologie","tag-wm-2026","tag-wm-maskottchen","tag-world-cup-2026"],"yoast_head":"\n