Trademark registration in Germany

Germany is known for the practical rationality of its citizens, the cleanliness of its cities, the conservative variety of cuisine, and the high income of its consumers. Promotion to this market looks attractive, but the entrepreneur will have to be correct and honest. For the products to become recognizable, it will be very useful to register the trademark of Germany (hereinafter - TK).

The procedure for the legal protection of the brand is carried out in the registry for the registration of German trademarks. This is the German Patent and Trademark Office (Deutsches Patent - und Markenamt (DPMA)) within the German Federal Ministry. It is headquartered in Munich and has two branches in Berlin and Jena.

Peculiarities of trademark registration in Germany

In Germany, it is forbidden to register trademarks that:

• are misleading to potential consumers;
• Do not have a graphic representation;
• are similar to other brands subject to legal protection in Germany;
• contain state marks and emblems;
• found to be offensive to the public.

However, the office does not check whether identical or similar trademarks have already been registered, but rightholders can file objections to trademark protection after registration, so it is necessary to make sure that the brand is not occupied.

Application documents must only be submitted to the DPMA through local patent attorneys or a German lawyer. Registration is only subject to a power of attorney in accordance with the German official model.

List of documents and legal information

In order to register a brand in Germany, it is necessary to provide:

• TK image (graphic image, letter image, combined image);
• the color of the TK (it can be color or black and white);
• The list of goods or services according to the international classification;
• Applicant's data.

In this case the list of goods and services is submitted by classes, not by their individual names.

The owner of a trademark in this country can be:

• an individual;
• legal entity;
• a group of persons.
• If an individual is not a sole proprietorship, this does not serve as a barrier to registration. In order to register a trademark in Germany under the national system, a resident of Russia or any other country does not need to own a registered brand in the country of origin.

The certificate of trademark registration in Germany is issued for 10 years as of the date of submission of the application documents and upon expiry of that period it can be extended any number of times for 10-year periods by means of the statutory procedures.

The registration of TK in Germany can be done in three ways:

• Through Germany's national TK registration procedure;
• Under the Madrid system;
• A trademark registered in the European Union.

Accelerated trademark registration procedure in Germany

In case the legal protection of the trademark has to be done as quickly as possible, in this country it is possible to speed up the registration procedure by paying a fee of 200 euros. In such a case, the entire process takes six months from the date of filing. A normal TK registration takes 7-8 months from start to finish.

The services we provide in Russia and Abroad:

Under the Madrid System:

• Initial processing and filing of the registration application;
• Payment of all fees and charges in Germany;
• Administration, including an extended (on application), until the completion of the registration process;
• Liaising with national offices and WIPO on notifications and requests;
• Obtaining international and national certificates;

National registration:

• search and uniqueness evaluation;
• initial preparation and filing of the registration application;
• handling all the paperwork until the completion of the registration process;
• making all payments and fees;
• Obtaining of the certificate.

To find out more details and to clarify the cost of this service, please contact our specialists by the contacts indicated, by phone, or during a personal meeting.

An interesting fact about intellectual property:

The object of a right from the field of intellectual property cannot be tangible. In the case of a painting, for example, the canvas and paints are not subject to intellectual property protection. The artist only owns the rights to what the painting depicts. The rights to the physical medium and the image may belong to different people. The right to the canvas and paint goes to the purchaser of the painting, while the copyright to the images is inalienable from the author himself.