Control of costs

In our opinion, a sensible administration of your interests encompasses a clearly laid-out structure of costs. Such will protect you from surprises and enable you to control the amount of incurring costs.

a) When do you obtain control of costs in extrajudicial proceedings?

From the very first conversation onwards.
Usually we appoint mutually a budget during first conversation.
Each report and each message will be accompanied with a list of meanwhile rendered services and respectively incurred costs.

When reaching 50% of the appointed budget, a preliminary report may be provided, giving you the opportunity to decide on further procedure.

Incurred costs will be charged monthly by a respective accounting, allowing you a term of payment of 30 days.Exceeding the appointed budget by more than 20% will be allowable only in combination with your consent.

Extent and reason of exceedance will be submitted for approval as soon as said exceedence has become apparent as being inevitable.

Thus you are provided with a step-wise control of costs and can always be sure about the total sum to be expected.

b) What about judicial proceedings?

Proceedings in front of a court incur costs, which are at least as high as prescribed by the German law concerning the comission of lawyers. Said compensation depends on the amount involved in the respective case.

Please be aware, that in multilateral proceedings costs of all involved parties may be assigned to the party, which necessitated said proceedings. The possible amount of money due to such a worst-case can be estimated roughly as a preliminary action. Such will provide you with a rough estimate of worst-case costs and enable you to decide, whether such costs are acceptable to you. Said estimation can be carried out via known programs aceesible via internet. In case you would like us to prepare a rough estimate on our side, we will be glad to provide you with one.

c) How will costs be calculated concerning extrajudicial proceedings ?

In principle, costs are calculated in proportion to time and effort.

Activities of a patent attorney, e. g. composing a letter, amending an application in view of an official action, representation in front of respective offices or evaluation of protective rights will be charged at 210,-- Euro per hour plus v.a.t., including the prepared documents.

Activities of a technically or judicially qualified person - e. g. preparation of drawings, assembly of documents or checking the legal status of a protective right will be charged at 70,-- Euro per hour plus v.a.t..

National fees as well as expenses in Euro incurred in relation with our activities will be charged with a surcharge of 20%.

Fees relating to international procedures of protective rights will be charged with a surcharge of 50%.

Fees and costs incurred in currencies other than Euro which incurred in relation with our activities will be charged with a surcharge of 25% including exchange rate risk.

Fees and bills maintaining protective rights and avoiding late transference penalties will be authorised once a notified deadline, advised by advance notice, has expired; payment will not be carried out, if a specific, signed instruction to incur no further costs has been received either by mail or via facsimile.

First-time clients will be required to submit an advance payment according to ?13 of the German patent attorney's code of conduct; the advance payment amounts to 50% of the previously mutually appointed budget.

d) Can a patent attorney be paid by giving him a share of the respective idea?

No.

A German patent attorney will of course support and protect your interests, but is also obliged to comply to his code of conduct. That is why a patent attorney is obliged to tell the truth; on the other hand, a German patent attorney may not be coerced by the state to disclose any conversation, which has taken place between him and his client, to third parties.

Along this view a patent attorney may not select or have selected possible clients in relation to the probable chance of success of an idea.

These circumstances are mirrored in specific regulations concerning his payment:In principle a payment dependent on success is not allowed (?43 b PatAnwO). The probable result of proceedings shall not influence the extent of activities carried out by the patent attorney.

Also shares of protective rights or of their derived profit are not allowable as payment (PatAnwBO ?13, (3)).

Furthermore an illustration and explanation of legal questions or case-law, which is directed at the public / public media, may not be charged as legal service (?2, (3) Nr. 5 RDG).

Obligatory for legal services rendered is the appointment of an adequate compensation (?? 315, 316 BGB). That is, why we prefer to start activities by appointing a budget along these guide-lines, keeping you informed about incurring costs all along.

Ask us.

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