# German — IP, Technology and IT Sub-Lexicon

Combines German-language IP/technology and IT/SaaS vocabulary. Part 1 covers copyright, industrial property (patents, designs, trade marks), trade secrets and technology transfer. Part 2 covers software licensing, SaaS/cloud services, implementation projects, SLAs, data processing and cybersecurity.

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## Part 1 — Intellectual Property and Technology

Auto-generated from translation experience. Maps German intellectual property and technology
legal terms to their correct English equivalents.

## Core IP Terms

| German | English |
|---|---|
| Geistiges Eigentum / Immaterialgüterrecht | intellectual property (IP) |
| Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz | industrial property |
| Urheberrecht | copyright |
| Urheberpersönlichkeitsrecht | moral rights |
| Verwertungsrechte / Nutzungsrechte | economic rights / exploitation rights |
| Vervielfältigungsrecht | right of reproduction |
| Recht der öffentlichen Zugänglichmachung | right of making available to the public |
| Patent | patent |
| Patentanmeldung | patent application |
| Patenterteilung | grant of a patent |
| Patentanspruch | claim (patent claim) |
| Patentbeschreibung | specification |
| Stand der Technik | prior art |
| Patentverletzung / Verletzung | infringement |
| Verletzungsklage | infringement proceedings / infringement action |
| Marke / eingetragene Marke | trade mark (UK) / trademark (US) |
| Unionsmarke | EU trade mark |
| Markeneintragung / Markenregistrierung | trade mark registration |
| Nizza-Klasse | class (trade mark class) |
| Unternehmenskennzeichen | trade name |
| Firma | corporate name |
| Geschmacksmuster / Design | design (registered design) |
| Gemeinschaftsgeschmacksmuster | Community design / EU registered design |
| Geschäftsgeheimnis | trade secret |
| Know-how | know-how |
| Sortenschutzrecht | plant variety right |
| Geographische Herkunftsangabe | geographical indication |

## Licensing and Transfer Terms

| German | English |
|---|---|
| Lizenzvertrag | licence agreement (UK) / license agreement (US) |
| Ausschließliche Lizenz | exclusive licence |
| Einfache Lizenz / nicht-ausschließliche Lizenz | non-exclusive licence |
| Lizenzgeber | licensor |
| Lizenznehmer | licensee |
| Pauschale Lizenzgebühr | lump-sum royalty / one-off licence fee |
| Laufende Lizenzgebühr / Stücklizenz | running royalty |
| Unterlizenz | sub-licence (UK) / sub-license (US) |
| Rechteübertragung / Abtretung von Rechten | assignment of rights |
| Patentübertragung | patent assignment |
| Markenübertragung | trade mark assignment |
| Technologietransfer | technology transfer |
| Forschungs- und Entwicklungsvertrag (F&E) | research and development (R&D) agreement |
| Rechte an den Ergebnissen / IP-Inhaberschaft | ownership of results / IP ownership |
| Vorbestehendes geistiges Eigentum / Hintergrund-IP | background IP / pre-existing IP |
| Neues geistiges Eigentum / Vordergrund-IP | foreground IP / developed IP |
| Freiheit der Benutzung / Freedom to Operate (FTO) | freedom to operate (FTO) |
| Lizenzgebiet | licensed territory |
| Nutzungsfeld / Anwendungsgebiet | field of use |

## Enforcement Terms

| German | English |
|---|---|
| Einstweilige Verfügung | preliminary injunction / interim injunction |
| Unterlassungsanspruch | injunction / cease and desist |
| Schadensersatz | damages |
| Vernichtungsanspruch | destruction of infringing goods |
| Auskunftsanspruch | right to information / disclosure order |
| Unlauterer Wettbewerb (UWG) | unfair competition |
| Nachahmung / Sklavische Nachahmung | imitation / slavish imitation |

## Section Headings

| German | English |
|---|---|
| DEFINITIONEN | DEFINITIONS |
| LIZENZGEGENSTAND | SCOPE OF THE LICENCE |
| GEISTIGES EIGENTUM | INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY |
| EINGERÄUMTE RECHTE | RIGHTS GRANTED |
| LIZENZGEBÜHREN | ROYALTIES |
| LAUFZEIT UND KÜNDIGUNG | TERM AND TERMINATION |
| GEWÄHRLEISTUNG | WARRANTIES |
| VERLETZUNG | INFRINGEMENT |
| VERTRAULICHKEIT | CONFIDENTIALITY |
| ALLGEMEINE BESTIMMUNGEN | MISCELLANEOUS |

## Notes

- **"Marke" spelling**: Use "trade mark" (two words, UK) or "trademark" (one word, US)
  depending on target audience. Default to UK (two words).
- **"Urheberrecht" vs common law copyright**: German Urheberrecht includes non-transferable
  moral rights (Urheberpersönlichkeitsrecht). Copyright cannot be assigned in Germany —
  only usage rights (Nutzungsrechte) can be granted. Flag in translation.
- **"Geschäftsgeheimnis"**: Protected under the GeschGehG (Gesetz zum Schutz von
  Geschäftsgeheimnissen, implementing the EU Trade Secrets Directive). Translate as
  "trade secret".
- **DPMA**: Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt — the German Patent and Trade Mark Office.
  Keep abbreviation and translate on first mention.
- **"Arbeitnehmererfindungsgesetz" (ArbnErfG)**: German law on employee inventions —
  requires the employer to formally claim employee inventions and pay compensation.
  No equivalent in most common law jurisdictions.

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## Part 2 — IT, Software and SaaS

Auto-generated from translation experience. Maps German IT/SaaS legal terms to their
correct English equivalents.

## Core IT/SaaS Document Terms

| German | English |
|---|---|
| SaaS-Vertrag / Software-as-a-Service-Vertrag | SaaS agreement |
| Softwarelizenzvertrag | software licence agreement (UK) / software license agreement (US) |
| Cloud-Services-Vertrag | cloud services agreement |
| Softwareentwicklungsvertrag | software development agreement |
| Wartungsvertrag / Pflegevertrag | maintenance agreement |
| Systemintegrationsvertrag | systems integration agreement |
| Hosting-Vertrag | hosting agreement |
| IT-Outsourcing-Vertrag / Auslagerungsvertrag | IT outsourcing agreement / managed services agreement |
| Anbieter / Dienstleister | provider / supplier |
| Kunde / Auftraggeber | customer / user |
| Endnutzer / Endanwender | end user |
| Nutzungsrecht / Nutzungslizenz | right of use / user licence |
| Zugangsrecht | access right |
| Abonnement / Subskription | subscription |
| Abonnementgebühr / Subskriptionsgebühr | subscription fee |
| Lizenzgebühr | licence fee |
| Einrichtungsgebühren / Implementierungskosten | set-up fees / implementation fees |
| Wartungsgebühren / Pflegegebühren | maintenance fees |

## Technical Terms

| German | English |
|---|---|
| Software | software |
| Standardsoftware | off-the-shelf software / standard software |
| Individualsoftware / maßgeschneiderte Software | bespoke software / custom software |
| Quellcode / Quelltext | source code |
| Objektcode | object code |
| Quellcode-Hinterlegung / Source Code Escrow | source code escrow |
| Programmierschnittstelle (API) | application programming interface (API) |
| Datenbank | database |
| Infrastruktur | infrastructure |
| Server | server |
| Rechenzentrum | data centre (UK) / data center (US) |
| Bandbreite | bandwidth |
| Speicher / Speicherplatz | storage |
| Datensicherung / Backup | backup |
| Wiederherstellung | recovery / restore |
| Datenmigration | data migration |
| Interoperabilität | interoperability |
| Integration | integration |
| Konfiguration / Parametrierung | configuration |
| Anpassung / Individualisierung | customisation (UK) / customization (US) |
| Aktualisierung / Update | update |
| Upgrade / Versionswechsel | upgrade |
| Patch / Fehlerbehebung | patch / hotfix |
| Version / Release | release / version |
| Produktivumgebung | production environment |
| Testumgebung / Staging-Umgebung | test environment / staging environment |

## Service Level Terms

| German | English |
|---|---|
| Service Level / Dienstgüte | service level |
| Service Level Agreement (SLA) / Dienstgütevereinbarung | service level agreement (SLA) |
| Verfügbarkeit | availability / uptime |
| Verfügbarkeitsquote | availability rate / uptime percentage |
| Ausfallzeit | downtime |
| Geplante Wartung / Wartungsfenster | scheduled downtime / planned maintenance |
| Reaktionszeit | response time |
| Lösungszeit / Behebungszeit | resolution time |
| Störung / Vorfall | incident |
| Schwerwiegende Störung / Kritischer Vorfall | major incident / critical incident |
| Störungsmanagement / Incident Management | incident management |
| Eskalation | escalation |
| Service Credits / Gutschriften | service credits |
| Notfallwiederherstellungsplan / Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) | disaster recovery plan (DRP) |
| Geschäftskontinuitätsplan / Business Continuity Plan (BCP) | business continuity plan (BCP) |
| Wiederanlaufzeit (RTO) | recovery time objective (RTO) |
| Wiederherstellungspunkt (RPO) | recovery point objective (RPO) |

## Data Protection and Security

| German | English |
|---|---|
| personenbezogene Daten | personal data |
| Verantwortlicher | data controller |
| Auftragsverarbeiter | data processor |
| Auftragsverarbeitungsvertrag (AVV) | data processing agreement (DPA) |
| Drittlandübermittlung / Datenübermittlung in Drittländer | cross-border data transfer / data transfer outside the EU |
| Standardvertragsklauseln (SVK) | standard contractual clauses (SCCs) |
| Datenschutz-Folgenabschätzung (DSFA) | data protection impact assessment (DPIA) |
| Datenschutzverletzung / Datenpanne | data breach |
| Verschlüsselung | encryption |
| Pseudonymisierung | pseudonymisation |
| Anonymisierung | anonymisation |
| Technische und organisatorische Maßnahmen (TOM) | technical and organisational measures (TOMs) |

## Section Headings

| German | English |
|---|---|
| GEGENSTAND / LEISTUNGSUMFANG | SCOPE OF SERVICES |
| NUTZUNGSRECHT / LIZENZ | RIGHT OF USE / LICENCE |
| SERVICE LEVELS | SERVICE LEVELS |
| HOSTING UND INFRASTRUKTUR | HOSTING AND INFRASTRUCTURE |
| WARTUNG UND SUPPORT | MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT |
| DATENSCHUTZ | DATA PROTECTION |
| SICHERHEIT | SECURITY |
| VERGÜTUNG UND ZAHLUNG | FEES AND PAYMENT |
| HAFTUNG | LIABILITY |

## Notes

- **"Lizenz"**: German uses "Lizenz" for both noun and verb. UK English uses "licence"
  (noun) / "license" (verb). US English uses "license" for both. Default to UK noun form.
- **"Auftragsverarbeitungsvertrag" (AVV)**: The German term for a data processing
  agreement under Art. 28 GDPR. Often referred to as "AVV" in practice. Translate as
  "data processing agreement (DPA)".
- **"Abnahme"**: In IT contracts structured as Werkvertrag, formal acceptance (Abnahme)
  is a critical milestone — it triggers warranty and payment obligations. Translate as
  "acceptance" or "user acceptance testing" with context note.
- **"Technische und organisatorische Maßnahmen" (TOM)**: Required under Art. 32 GDPR.
  A standard section in German IT/cloud contracts. Translate as "technical and
  organisational measures".
- **BfDI**: The Bundesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit is
  the German federal data protection authority. Keep abbreviation and translate on
  first mention.
