The objective of the study is to analyse the use and importance of formal IPR, especially patents, and informal protection strategies for service companies on the basis of an in-depth understanding of the "innovation process" in the different service sectors. In order to reach this main objective, three tasks had to be accomplished. Firstly, the existing literature on innovation in services had to be screened in order to build a solid base for the empirical analyses. Secondly, in order to obtain quantitative results about patent activities of service companies patent databases have been searched for patent applications by European service companies. Thirdly, a sample of service companies was analysed in-depth in order to obtain insights into the strategies of generating and protecting innovations in services.