A German patent application includes a description of the invention. Section 10 of the Patent Ordinance sets out what the description must contain. Besides, where needed, the technical field and the state of the art, the applicant must state das der Erfindung zugrunde liegende Problem, the problem on which the invention is based. After it comes the invention for which protection is sought.
The problem may be left out only if it already follows from the solution described or from the stated advantages of the invention. It must be stated in particular wenn es zum Verständnis der Erfindung oder für ihre nähere inhaltliche Bestimmung unentbehrlich ist, when it is indispensable for understanding the invention or for defining its content more closely.