General Terms and Conditions
Last updated: September 2026
1. Scope and Subject Matter of the Contract
1.1. Patai GmbH (hereinafter the "Platform Operator") operates a platform at patai.legal that brings together inventors (hereinafter "Users") and qualified patent attorneys (hereinafter "Experts"). The platform itself is accessible at app.patai.legal.
1.2. These GTC govern the use of the platform and the brokering of invention disclosures.
1.3. The Platform Operator does not itself provide legal advice within the meaning of the Patent Attorney Act, unless the subsidiary provision pursuant to Section 9.1 of these GTC applies.
1.4. Disclaimer: The use of the platform or the submission of invention disclosures does not give rise to an attorney-client relationship between the User and the Platform Operator. Such an attorney-client relationship arises exclusively by way of a separate agreement concluded directly between the User and the Expert chosen by the User, outside of or following the use of the platform.
2. Registration and Verification
2.1. Use of the platform requires registration. For Users, first name, last name, e-mail address, telephone number and country are collected.
2.2. Experts: When registering, Experts provide their law firm details and, as a mandatory requirement, a link to a public register (e.g. the list of professional representatives admitted before the EPO, the Swiss Patent Attorney Register of the IPI, or a national register of attorneys or patent attorneys). The Platform Operator verifies this information before an invention disclosure is assigned to an Expert for the first time. The information provided by Experts is self-declared; the Platform Operator does not owe any further verification of professional qualifications beyond this.
2.3. There is no entitlement to admission to the platform or to the assignment of invention disclosures.
3. Services for the Inventor (User)
3.1. Registration and the submission of invention disclosures are free of charge for the User.
3.2. The Platform Operator reserves the right to charge Users fees for additional services in the future. Users will be informed of such fees in advance; they shall only become payable with the User's express consent.
3.3. Invention disclosures are passed on exclusively to Experts whom the Platform Operator has previously verified and expressly assigned (Section 2.2). Without assignment, no Expert has access.
3.4. The Platform Operator acts as a neutral body. The User always retains the free choice of which Expert they wish to work with.
3.5. AI Support: The platform supports the User in preparing the invention disclosure by means of an AI assistant and evaluates uploaded documents automatically. The results are suggestions; the User remains responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their information and may amend any text before submission. This expressly does not entail any statement on patentability.
4. Services for Patent Attorneys (Experts)
4.1. Free Use: Registration and inclusion in the directory are free of charge. Without a subscription and without credits, Experts see only the reduced view (title, technical field, problem statement) of an assigned invention disclosure.
4.2. Two Ways to the Full View: In order to view the complete invention disclosure and to submit feedback, the Expert requires either an active subscription or at least one credit (Section 5).
4.3. Conflict Check: Before viewing the full details of an invention disclosure, the Expert is obliged to carry out an independent check for conflicts of interest on the basis of the reduced view. If a conflict exists, the Expert may not retrieve the complete data. The confirmation is made on the platform and is logged.
4.4. Communication between the Expert and the User takes place via the platform's internal chat system until a contract is concluded. As soon as a collaboration has been agreed, further handling takes place outside the platform.
5. Subscription, Credits and Payment Processing
5.1. Subscription: The subscription can be booked on a monthly or annual basis. It renews automatically for the selected term and may be cancelled at any time with effect from the end of the current billing period. With an active subscription, the number of invention disclosures that can be viewed is unlimited; credits are not required for this.
5.2. Credits: As an alternative to the subscription, credits can be purchased individually or in packages. A credit is a fixed usage fee for the technical processing of exactly one invention disclosure on the platform. The amount of the fee is fixed, is not measured by the Expert's fee and does not depend on whether a mandate comes about between the User and the Expert.
5.3. Charging: The mere unlocking of the full view does not yet trigger the usage fee. It is charged as soon as the Expert actually processes the invention disclosure, i.e. submits their feedback and this is delivered to the User. If the Expert discontinues the processing before that point, no fee is incurred by them. If the User subsequently decides in favour of a different Expert, the fee already charged remains unchanged — it is expressly not success-based.
5.4. Purchased credits do not expire. Credits already purchased but not yet charged are not refunded; Section 10.2 remains reserved.
5.5. Payment Terms: Payment is made via the payment methods offered on the platform. All prices are stated in Swiss francs and, unless otherwise indicated, are exclusive of the applicable statutory value added tax.
5.6. No Brokerage Commission: The Platform Operator does not charge any fees that are linked to the conclusion of a mandate, to its value or to the Expert's fee. All fees are fixed usage fees for the provision and operation of the platform. There are no exclusivity or non-circumvention obligations: the User and the Expert may at any time contract freely and outside the platform.
5.7. Individual contracts and conditions may be agreed in writing between the Expert and the Platform Operator.
6. Assignment of Invention Disclosures and Feedback Quota
6.1. The Platform Operator decides at its own discretion on the assignment of invention disclosures to Experts. The criteria for this are the Expert's technical fields and any wishes of the User. Experts with an active subscription are given preferential consideration in the assignment.
6.2. As a rule, an invention disclosure is assigned to several Experts, unless the User expressly wishes an exclusive or restricted forwarding.
6.3. A Maximum of Three Feedbacks: For each invention disclosure, the platform accepts a maximum of three (3) feedbacks. The decisive factor is the time of sending; once three feedbacks have been received, the quota is exhausted.
6.4. If an Expert submits feedback after the quota has been exhausted, it is not lost: it is withheld by the Platform Operator. The Platform Operator decides whether to deliver it to the User nonetheless. Only upon such delivery is the usage fee charged in accordance with Section 5.3. There is no entitlement to delivery.
7. Review for Seriousness and Right of Withdrawal
7.1. The Platform Operator reserves the right not to forward invention disclosures if they do not demonstrate sufficient seriousness. Each invention disclosure is manually reviewed before being passed on to Experts.
7.2. If the User nevertheless expressly requests an Expert opinion, a processing fee of CHF 50.00 to CHF 100.00 may be charged. This may be refunded on request in the event of successful brokering.
7.3. Right of Withdrawal for Consumers: Insofar as the User acts as a consumer, they are entitled to a statutory right of withdrawal of 14 days. When making use of services subject to a charge, the User expressly agrees that the Platform Operator begins performing the service before the end of the withdrawal period and that the right of withdrawal lapses upon complete performance of the contract by the operator.
8. Account, Deletion and Content
8.1. The User and the Expert may delete their account at any time. Personal master data is thereby deleted or anonymised.
8.2. Feedback already submitted, chat histories and ongoing brokering processes remain unaffected by this, insofar as they concern rights of the respective other party. Details are set out in the Privacy Policy.
9. Subsidiary Processing and Forwarding to Partners
9.1. If no Expert responds to an invention disclosure within three (3) working days, the Platform Operator is entitled to have the invention disclosure processed by internal patent attorneys or to forward it to external partner patent attorneys.
10. Exclusion from the Platform
10.1. The Platform Operator may exclude Experts or Users from the platform for good cause.
10.2. In the event of an exclusion, the amount already paid for the remaining term of the subscription will be refunded pro rata temporis on request. Unused credits will be refunded on request.
11. Confidentiality, Rights and Data Protection
11.1. All employees and shareholders of Patai GmbH are contractually bound to confidentiality.
11.2. At the User's request, the Platform Operator will sign a separate NDA.
11.3. Only Experts who are already bound to confidentiality by virtue of their profession are admitted to the platform. Before full access, each Expert additionally confirms their professional obligations (Section 4.3).
11.4. Warranty of Rights: By uploading an invention disclosure, the User warrants that they are the rightful originator of the invention or holds the unrestricted rights to share this information on the platform for the purpose of brokering. The User indemnifies the Platform Operator against claims of third parties resulting from an infringement of these rights.
11.5. In order to provide the services, the Platform Operator uses processors, among others for hosting, database, authentication, e-mail dispatch, payment processing and AI functions. The current overview is set out in the Privacy Policy.
12. Limitation of Liability
12.1. The Platform Operator is liable only for the proper brokering and the operation of the platform, but not for the quality or content of the advice provided by the Experts.
12.2. An independent attorney-client relationship comes about between the User and the Expert outside the platform.
12.3. The Platform Operator gives no warranty for the results of the AI functions (Section 3.5).
13. Liability for External Links and Third-Party Providers
13.1. The platform may contain links to external third-party websites, partner offers or advertisements. The Platform Operator has no influence on the current and future content or the design of these external offers.
13.2. The linking or display does not mean that the Platform Operator adopts as its own the content behind the reference or advertisement. The respective provider or operator of the linked pages is always responsible for their content.
13.3. The Platform Operator accepts no liability for the lawfulness, accuracy or completeness of the content of third-party providers or for their compliance with data protection provisions. Use is at the User's own risk.
14. Final Provisions
14.1. The law of the Swiss Confederation applies.
14.2. The place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract is the registered office of Patai GmbH.