Own Responsibility Ensures Protection and Service

The main objective of the Patent Office is clearly defined: We want to provide the greatest scope of protection, as usual, however also get even closer to the customer by means of our services. A condition for the achievement of both targets was the flexibilisation clause introduced in 2005, initially as a two-year project. The Patent Office was the first organizational unit within the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation, and Technology (BMVIT) to implement this, which thus made it a trail-blazer in matters of modernisation. Following the pilot phase, the Patent Office was granted another four flexible years until 2010 – the additional extension is just an option, of course. The increased flexibility is an encouragement for us: We will make increased use of our more flexible financial management for the expansion of our services. In 2008, for example, we established our customer helpdesk.