This handbook presents a comprehensive view of substantive patent law in a European and international context. German patent law is used as an example of a mature patent law regime. The handbook covers the following subjects:
1. Introduction
2. Inventions and their amenability to patent protection
3. Ownership
4. Patent transfer and licensing
5. Grant and rejection of patents
6. Interpretation and scope of protection of patents
7. Chemical and biological inventions
8. Use of a patent
9. Defences
10. Legal consequences of patent infringement
11. European Patent and European Patent Court
12. Other proceedings and claims in patent cases
13. The law of utility models
14. The supplementary protection certificate