Delokalisierte Erfindungen

The steadily advancing digitalisation is also leading to an increasing number of patent applications for networked technologies. Networking and the transfer of information take place without regard to national borders and therefore, at first glance, seem to contradict national patent law, which can only offer protection in the respective granting state. The concept of patent law, however, is to grant the inventor a reward in the form of a monopoly in order to incentivise inventive activity. This thesis examines the question of whether these functions of patent law are effective with regard to inventions and information-generating processes that can be realised across borders.