WIPO WORKSHOP ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FOR BUSINESS FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES (SMES) Workshop in Dar-es-Salaam, May 10 and 11 2005 Dipl.-Ing. Volker Plogmann Managing Director Patent and Trademark Department Wilhelm Karmann GmbH Full Service Vehicle Supplier, Osnabrück, Germany Volker Plogmann

Wilhelm Karmann GmbH Karmann Ghia Coupe 1955 Volker Plogmann Wilhelm Karmann GmbH - Shaping the future of automobile As one of the world's most successful full-service-vehicle-suppliers, each and every day, we are working on the future of the automobile as a forerunner, setting new standards through our engineering solutions. Tradition and innovation are the two components of our drive – the market and the high standard of requirements of our customers are our impetus. Indeed, the name "Karmann" stands for quality and reliability, expeditiousness and flexibility, and thus, ''Karmann'' signifies a permanently high level of performance. Specifically, in the development stage of new products. Volker Plogmann

Complete Vehicles Audi A4 Convertible 2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK Convertible 2003 Chrysler Crossfire Coupé 2003 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster 2004 International OEMs Our current reference list includes the Audi A4 convertible, the Chrysler Crossfire Coupe, the Chrysler Crossfire Roadster and the Mercedes-Benz CLK convertible. We supply modules for the Jaguar XK8 convertible, the Renault Mégane convertible and the Mercedes-Benz SLK. In addition, we were in charge of the development of the Volkswagen New Beetle convertible and the Mercedes-Benz Vaneo and the MAN driver's cabin Trucknology including the manufacturing of the production facilities. The roof modules for the New Beetle convertible are now being produced by Karmann-Ghia of Mexico. Our company is indeed famous for its expertise in convertibles. However, if you take a closer look, you will find that there is so much more to Karmann. Volker Plogmann

Roof Systems VW New Beetle Convertible 2002 Volker Plogmann Renault Mégane Coupe-Convertibles 2003 Volker Plogmann

3.5 Million Vehicles 1949-2004 Selection from reference vehicle list: VW Golf A1 Convert. 388,522 units VW Beetle Convert. 331,847 units VW Karmann Ghia 362,601 units VW Porsche 914 118,949 units VW Scirocco I 504,153 units BMW 6th Series 96,149 units VW Scirocco II 291,497 units Ford Escort Conv. 104,237 units VW Corrado 97,521 units Ford Escort Conv. 83,983 units VW Golf A3 Convert. 139,577 units Renault Mégane Conv. 58,867 units 3.5 Million Vehicles 1949-2004 Since 1949, more than 3,5 million vehicles have been built by Karmann. Some examples are the Volkswagen Beetle convertible, the legendary Karmann Ghia, BMW coupes, the Volkswagen Porsche 914, the Volkswagen Scirocco and all Volkswagen Golf convertibles. A complete overview may be found in the history section. Merc.-Benz CLK 81,518 units Audi 80 Convertible 12,012 units VW Golf A4 Convert. 72,666 units Merc.-Benz CLK Coupé 31,568 units Audi A4 Convertible 20,906 units Chrysler Crossfire Volker Plogmann

Global Locations Volker Plogmann Karmann-Rheine GmbH & Co. KG Vehicle Production Wilhelm Karmann GmbH Osnabrück Vehicle Engineering • Tooling Roof Systems • Production ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg GmbH Papenburg Proving Ground Karmann U.S.A., Inc. Plymouth, Michigan Vehicle Engineering Julius Heywinkel GmbH Bramsche Fabric & Plastics Production AGS GmbH Osnabrück Logistics Services Karmann-Ghia de Mexico Puebla Roof System Production Karmann-Ghia do Brasil Ltda. Sao Paulo Tooling • Stamping Vehicle Production Karmann-Ghia de Portugal Lda. Vendas Novas Fabric Production Volker Plogmann

Wilhelm Karmann GmbH Germany - Osnabrück Service Spectrum: Vehicle Engineering • Tooling Roof Systems • Production Founded: 1901 Employees: 6,106 total area: 435.000 m2 built-on-area: 195.116 m2 Current Key Products: Chrysler Crossfire Coupe MB CLK Convertible MB SLK (BIW Module) Volker Plogmann

Karmann-Rheine GmbH & Co. KG Germany - Rheine Service Spectrum: Vehicle Production Founded: 1965 Employees: 1,760 total area: 432.500 m2 built-on-area: 78.500 m2 Current Key Products: Audi A4 Convertible Renault Mégane II CC (RHT module) Jaguar XK8 (Soft-top Frame) Volker Plogmann

Karmann-Ghia do Brasil Ltda. Sao Paulo Service Spectrum: Tooling • Stamping Vehicle Production Founded: 1960 Employees: 498 Current Key Products: Final Assembly of Land Rover 90 SW Tools for DC, Dana, Fiat, Ford, GM, Krupp, Land Rover, Honda, Renault, Scania, Volvo, VW Stamping Parts for DC, Fiat, Krupp, Scania, TWB, Volvo, VW Volker Plogmann

Karmann-Ghia de Portugal Lda. Vendas Novas Service Spectrum: Fabric Production Founded: 1992 Employees: 276 Current Key Products: Fabric & leather seat covers for Audi A4 Convertible BMW new 5 series Ford Galaxy Land Rover MB CLK Convertible VW Sharan Seat Alhambra Volker Plogmann

Karmann-Ghia de Mexico Puebla Service Spektrum: Roof System Production Founded: 2002 Employees: 150 Current Product: Soft-top System for Volkswagen New Beetle Cabrio Volker Plogmann

Karmann U.S.A. Plymouth,Michigan Service Spectrum: Founded: 1996 Vehicle Engineering, Roof System Production (2006) Founded: 1996 Employees: 140 Volker Plogmann

ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg Service Spectrum: Proving Ground Engineering Operation Begin: 1998 Employees: 100 Testing Area: 870 ha Volker Plogmann

Full Service Supplier Volker Plogmann Styling Concepts/ Advanced Engineering FEM Analysis Package/ Measure Concept/ Surface Class A Design/ Engineering Plastics Technology Roof Systems BIW Assembly Systems Tools & Dies Machining Engineering/ Concept Vehicle Testing Prototypes Powertrain & Chassis Integration QA Tooling Stamping Body-in- white Module Manufact. Paint Shop Soft-top Production Final Assembly Volker Plogmann

Division & Structure in Osnabrück Vehicle Engineering Tooling Production designStudio BIW Assembly Systems Tools and Dies Machining Stamping conceptTeam Body-in-white FEM Analysis Modules/Components Package/Measure Concept/ Surface Class A Roof Systems Paint Shop Design/Engineering Final Assembly Prototypes Development Design Testing Production Plastics Technology Division and Structure Now i want tell you more to the practical, day-to-day problems of R&D divivons and the interrelationsship with Intellectual Property Department. Intellectual Property Management Prototypes Vehicle Testing Volker Plogmann

Patents, Utility Models Intellectual Property Department IP Department Patents, Utility Models Trademarks, Designs Licensing Administration Volker Plogmann

Intellectual Property Management The protection of innovative solutions and the covering of Know-How in respect of the economic advantages in national and international competition is the major task of an Intellectual Property Management The support and the consulting in-house is another topic of the Intellectual Property Management Law of Contract (Patents and Licenses) Online research in patent databases National and international prosecution Patent litigation Volker Plogmann

Setting up a patentportfolio Patent Strategy Support in reaching the company targets Economical and professional protection of own inventions Decrease the risk of a blocking by competitors Avoidance of patent infringement Setting up a patentportfolio Volker Plogmann

Patent Strategy Questions to be answered: a) Shall a patent be applied for an invention? b) At what time should the application of an invention take place? c) Can invention be kept secret for „absolute reasons“? c) Which scope of protection should be aimed for? d) In which countries should an application take place? Beginning from questioning to Service Invention Service Invention The most difficult question of people working in the R&D division of a company is to determine the point in time when to contact the patent department with respect to a new invention. The principle should be to have a first contact as soon as possible, even during the time of developing the concept for a new project, the main reason for that being that the IP department should conduct at this very early stage, a search for relevant prior art for two reasons, namely a)to make additional information available to avoid double work, i.e. to avoid "inventing" something which has already been invented in the past; and b)to avoid running into infringement problems lateron, i.e. to try from the beginning on to find solutions for existing problems which do not fall into the scope of protection of existing patent rights. Volker Plogmann

Service Invention R & D Division IP Department Search for prior art Filing an application From then on, there should be a continuous contact between R&D and IP department in order to enable the most appropriate point in time when to file a patent application, i.e. to determine when there is enough information available to state that the patent invention has been "completed". The patent application should not be too early in order to avoid that there is too much of a risk that later results might be contradictory or leading in a different direction, but it should also not be too late to ensure the earliest possible priority. Search for prior art We have already shortly discussed the necessity of a thorough search for prior art at an early stage. This search can be done by different ways and in different steps. A first step could be collecting of all information available to R&D defining their own starting point for the research. Volker Plogmann

Service Invention 1. Employee's invention law (The German Problem!) Technical inventions Inventorship Right to apply for patents Definition of invention Definition of employee Service or free invention In a second step there should be a search for prior art in paten literature which can be done within the patent department or using competent outside searchers. There are various appropriate sources for doing such searches, for example various database such as Derwent. In the future, there will be certainly more and more opportunities to search via internet. In a third step (possibly simultaneous to the second step), an additional search in scientific literature, also via database or internet, might be recommendable, depending on subject-matter of the project. Volker Plogmann

Patent Strategy 2. Evaluation of inventions Evaluation for the classification of the inventions concerning the intended registration Orientation at markets and the competitive position Evaluation of the invention by representatives (Management of Technical Development and its department managers) Evaluation of Invention After having reviewed the results of the respective R&D project as well as available relevant prior art, the patent department (or an outside patent councel) has to evaluate the chances of success for obtaining patent protection as well as the status of the project in order to determine the best point in time for filing the application. At this state, it is also necessary to decide whether the results of the project can be combined within a single application or will have to be split into several independent applications, if there is lack of unity amongst the various aspects of the project needing protection. An application cannot claim simultaneously a car, an improved distillation column and a pharmaceutical. Such an application would lack of unity from the outset (a priori). This type of lack of unity would be discernible before drafting the application, even without considering the relevant state of the art. Volker Plogmann

Patent Strategy 2. Evaluation of inventions (Example) Volker Plogmann

Patent Strategy 3. Incentive-Program (Law relating to inventions of employees) an incentive is paid after registration of an invention a payment according to the Employee´s invention law is done after a patent is granted and used in a product (award to the inventor) Volker Plogmann

Patent Strategy 4. First filing applications Patent application - yes or no? Patent application - where and how?  National Territories Application drafting When the patent department believes the invention to be completed to a sufficient degree, claims and specification of the intended patent application should be drafted according to the principles already discussed. This first version of the patent application should be carefully reviewed by the inventor(s) and possibly discussed personally with the patent department, if clarification seems to be required. There are two tendencies of inventors which need specific attention by the patent department. Volker Plogmann

Patent Strategy 4. First filing applications National Patentlaw (harmonised) National Patentoffices National Patents National, independend proceedings in all countries, where the patent will be registrated a „worldwide patent“ does not exist ! a) The inventor is not able to find his invention in the application text because of the specific language of claims and specification to be chosen in drafting. Thus, it is recommendable in most cases, to at least have one or more examples reflecting the information from the inventor(s) in order to allow identification with the application. b) The inventor wants to cover a very broad range, adding more and more theoretical alternative or ideas to the application. It has to be carefully checked whether incorporation of such alternatives and addition is possible in view of unity of invention and, in particular, sufficient support by appropriate factual results. Volker Plogmann

Patent Strategy 5. Foreign subsequent applications Foreign protection Selection of countries (production; markets) National applications PCT EPC Volker Plogmann

Patent Strategy Paris Convention international convention subsequent application in the member states possible 164 member states right of priority (1 year) Volker Plogmann

Patent Strategy 6. Examination procedure Getting a maximum extent of protection Volker Plogmann

European Patent Office 27 contracting states 5 extension states Registration / Search / Examination Grant / Opposition / Appeal Distribution of a „European Patent“ * ** AT Österreich AL Albanien AT Österreich LT Littauen BE Belgien LV Lettland GR Griechenland MK Mazedonien IE Irland RO Rumänien CH Schweiz SI Slowenien IT Italien CY Zypern LI Liechtenstein DE Deutschland LU Luxemburg *** siehe beigefügte Liste DK Dänemark PCT-Länder (PCT-Anmelde- MC Monaco Formular) ES Spanien NL Niederlande FI Finnland PT Portugal FR Frankreich SE Schweden TR Türkei GB Vereinigtes Königreich Volker Plogmann

European Patentsystem Distribution procedure EPO European Patent (“Regional-Patent”) Nationalization DE FR AT XY Volker Plogmann

PCT-System Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) international announcing authority 123 Member countries Registration / Search / Preliminary Examination no distribution of a patent national/regional distribution procedures necessary (PCT is an „Preliminary stage “) * siehe beigefügte Liste PCT-Länder (PCT-Anmelde-Formular) Volker Plogmann

PCT-System International Phase PCT National and regional Phases TZ DE US Volker Plogmann

PCT-System First filing, DPMA PCT-filing, DPMA, EPC (Priority) Request for Int. Preliminary Examination End of International Phase EP DE US TZ JP Month 12 19 (20) 30 Volker Plogmann

Fees and Renewals 7. Fees and Renewals Payment of procedural fees administrative fees maintenance fees Screening of the Patentportfolios takes place annually Volker Plogmann

Cost schedule of a patent family (I) Locking device for cabriolet-tops First filing of the invention in Germany Foreign subsequent applications in USA, Japan and in Europe Volker Plogmann

Cost schedule of a patent family (I) Volker Plogmann

Cost schedule of a patent family (II) Element made of foamed metal First filing of the invention in Germany Foreign applications in USA, Japan and Europe Two oppositions in the german and in the european procedure Volker Plogmann

Cost schedule of a patent family (II) Volker Plogmann

Patent Strategy 8. Observation of competitors Examination of published registrations of third parties Distribution of specific patent information to the specialized divisions specific monitoring of selected competitors Volker Plogmann

Patent Strategy 9. Execution of infringement procedures Infringement of patents of third parties Development of a strategy to the practice: Objection, nullity, license negotiations Infringement of own patent rights Discussion with the management whether or not to proceed against violators Volker Plogmann

Thank you for listening! Patent Strategy Thank you for listening! Volker Plogmann