Summary of Registering German Trademarks and Detailed Explanation of Registration Procedures

Summary of German Trademarks:

1. On October 3, 1990, the former East and West Germany (i.e. Democratic Germany and Federal Germany) achieved reunification. According to the provisions of Part II of the Uniform Treaty on German Trademarks and Territory Extension to Past International Registered Trademarks, which came into effect on the same day, trademark applications submitted after the entry into force of this treaty shall be registered in accordance with the laws of the former West Germany and shall take effect throughout Germany. Before October 3, 1990, trademark applications or international registrations extending from East and West Germany to West Germany were still handled separately by the original authorities and remained valid on the territory of East and West Germany without mutual extension.

Another bill passed on September 2, 1991, which came into effect at the end of that year, stipulated that all industrial property rights acquired and existing in East and West Germany before October 3, 1990 would automatically extend to the entire of Germany. This extension does not require the right holder to propose automatic occurrence. At this point, the trademark law of East Germany no longer existed and was completely replaced by West German law.

2. The current German trademark law was initially formulated in 1968 and was revised twice in 1979 and 1987. In 1979, the content of protecting service trademarks was added during the revision. The implementation rules of the Trademark Law were revised and came into effect in 1986.

The new German Trademark Law came into effect on January 1, 1995. The revised Trademark Law includes:; The trademark must be registered immediately after examination. The registered trademark will be announced and objections to the registered trademark can be raised within 3 months. This important regulation allows trademark owners to sue for infringement even when the trademark is still in dispute. The new trademark law also includes implementing regulations to protect logos.

3. German law stipulates that the acquisition of trademark rights is based on registration. In Germany, product trademarks, service trademarks, and collective trademarks can be registered in accordance with the law.

4. Germany adopts the international classification of goods and services for trademark registration. However, when applying for trademark registration, an application can include multiple categories of goods or services, but the applicant should pay fees based on the number of categories.

5. At present, Germany is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks on the International Registration of Trademarks, the Nice Agreement on the International Classification of Goods and Services for Trademark Registration and the World Intellectual Property Organization. Germany recognized the Madrid Agreement Protocol on December 20, 1995, which entered into force in Germany on April 1, 1996.

6. National English abbreviation: DE.

Applicant qualification: Any natural or legal person may apply for the registration of a trademark. Applicants who do not have a place of business in Germany can only apply for trademark protection in Germany in accordance with the law as long as they accept German trademarks in the country where they have a place of business and receive the same treatment as their domestic trademarks. In addition, the German Patent Office can also require foreign equipment applicants to provide proof that they have filed and obtained equipment registration in their country of business. But this requirement will be based on the principle of reciprocity. Except as otherwise provided in international conventions, Germany does not allow the approval of trademark applications that do not meet legal requirements for registration.

Documents required for application:

1. Trademark pattern.

2. List of goods and services.

3. Foreign applicants are also required to provide a copy of the trademark registration certificate of their country of origin, and there is no need for authentication for citizens of reciprocal countries granting privileges to German citizens.

Official receipt time: 4 weeks

Registration time: 4-9 months

German trademark validity period: 10 years, calculated from the date of registration.

Trademark objection period: 30 days

Continuous non use revocation: 2 years

Official language: English

Renewal of German trademark: the application for renewal can be submitted within 2 months after the expiration of the period. If the fees have not been paid after the expiration of the period, a ultimatum of payment penalty will be issued; If the renewal fee is not paid within 6 months after the expiration or 1 month after the ultimatum is issued, the registration will be revoked.

Detailed explanation of registration procedures in Germany:

The Patent Office will conduct a rigorous examination of the form of the application documents and whether the trademark is registrable. However, there will be no review of whether there have been identical or similar registrations or applications for the trademark before. After reviewing the registrability of a trademark, a trademark announcement shall be published for registered trademarks. Within three months of the announcement period, any host or prior applicant of the same or similar trademark may raise objections and the Patent Office shall make a ruling.

Registration will not be granted in the following circumstances:

1. The trademark applied for registration is the same as the previously registered trademark, or the designated goods or services are the same.

2. The trademark applied for registration is the same or similar to the previously registered trademark, or the designated goods or services are the same or similar, causing public association.

3. When applying for the same or similar trademark on different categories of goods or services as a previously registered well-known trademark, the unfair use of such a registered trademark without legal reasons will damage the distinctiveness and popularity of the well-known trademark.