Experts in the field of trademark law
Trademarks serve to brand goods or services. Their primary function is to distinguish one provider’s goods or services from those of other competitors. The holder of a registered trademark can demand that any third party that uses the same trademark or a similar trademark for the same or similar goods or services cease and desist and pay damages.
A word, an image, or a combination of one or more words and images can be protected as a trademark. Trademark protection is also available for three-dimensional shapes, audio sequences, or even a specific scent.
When filing a trademark application, it is always necessary to state for which goods and/or services the trademark is supposed to be protected. Trademark protection is not, however, available for marks that are purely descriptive of those goods and/or services for which the trademark was registered.
Depending on where you wish to have trademark protection, you have various options:
- German trademark,
- European Union trademark,
- Internationally registered trademark, and/or
- National trademark in a country other than Germany, either in Europe or elsewhere.
The formal and subject-specific prerequisites for registering a trademark are examined by the competent authority. If the trademark is approved for registration, the initial period of protection is ten years from the date of registration. However, it is possible to extend the term of protection for another ten years as often as the trademark holder wishes.
Our services in trademark law
The services we offer in trademark law cover all activities in this field.
In particular, we offer the following services in connection with trademarks:
- Implementation and analysis of trademark searches
- Brand generation (through cooperative activities)
- Drafting trademark applications
- Submitting
- German trademark applications to the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA),
- EU trademark applications to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO),
- international trademark applications (submitting IR mark applications to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under the Madrid system),
- national trademark applications in any country around the world in cooperation with appropriately qualified local colleagues.
- Implementation of the filing and examination procedure before the relevant authorities in Germany and in other countries, right up to the registration of the mark
- Advice on matters of trademark strategy
- Management of trademark portfolios
- Monitoring and payment of renewal fees (fee monitoring)
- Defending trademarks in opposition and cancellation proceedings
- Expert opinions on infringement
- Enforcing trademark rights against infringers
- Monitoring trademark applications of third parties (continuous watch of trademark registers in Germany, Europe, or worldwide)
- Monitoring trademark infringement in competition (market monitoring)
- Monitoring trademark infringement in competition (market monitoring)