Germany
Legal basis is the Trademark Act of October 25, 1994 (last amended August 10, 2021) and the Trademark Decree of May 11, 2004 (last amended August 10, 2021).
The EU Directive 2015/2436, which aims to harmonise the trademark laws of the EU Member States, was implemented into national German law with effect on January 14, 2019. The changes regarding cancellation proceedings, renamed “revocation or invalidity proceedings” are effective since May 1, 2020.
Germany is a member of the Madrid Agreement, the Madrid Protocol and the European Union.
Trademark protection is obtained by registration. It can also be acquired by sufficient public recognition.
Classification
Nice Classification, 11th edition
What is registrable as a Trademark
Registrable as a trademark are all signs, which are capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises, particularly words including personal names, designs, letters, numerals, sound marks, three-dimensional designs, the shape of goods or of their packaging, colours and colour combinations, as well as sounds and any combination of the mentioned signs. Furthermore, the Trademark Decree explicitly names positional marks, pattern marks, tracer marks, motion marks, hologram marks, multimedia marks. The graphical representation requirement was abandoned with the implementation of the EU Directive 2015/2436.
The following trademark types are registrable: trademarks, service marks, collective marks and certification marks.
Registration Proceedings
The application is filed at the Trademark Department of the German Patent and Trademark Office.
Multiple-class applications are possible.Foreign applicants need a local agent.
A power of attorney is not necessary for the application but can be obligatory for foreign applicants if the proceeding continues to the German Federal Patent Court.
Foreign applicants do not need a domestic registration.
The application process includes a formal examination and an examination of distinctiveness, but no search for prior trademarks.
With the implementation of the EU Directive 2015/2436, geographical indications and designations of origin, plant variety rights, as well as traditional terms for wine and for specialties have become potential absolute bars for refusal of trademark protection.
The processing time from first filing to registration – if no objections are raised by the Examiner – is approx. 2 to 3 months. An urgent examination is possible after payment of an additional fee.
After registration, the trademark is published electronically in the weekly “Markenblatt” (Internet address: https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/blattdownload/marken).
Opposition Period
The opposition period is 3 months from the publication date of the registration. An opposition may be based on one or more older rights. The opposition fee depends on the number of rights on which the opposition is based.
