Patents: Foreigners may register patents

However, applicants having neither a domicile nor
an establishment in Germany must appoint a patent attorney in Germany as a representative
filing the patent application. The documents must be submitted in German or with a translation
into German.

The duration of a patent is 20 years, beginning on the day following the invention
patent application. Patent applicants can request accelerated examination when filing the
application provided that the patent application was previously filed at the U.S. Patent authority
and that at least one claim had been determined to be allowable.

There are a number of
differences in patent law which a qualified patent attorney will explain to U.S. Patent applicants.