Signs registered as plant variety denominations are not registrable as trademarks.

Preliminary injunctions serve to quickly enforce a claim, such as a cease and desist order in cases of trademark infringement. Preliminary injunctions can be obtained within a few days. They therefore represent a very “sharp sword” against trademark infringers.

The effect of claiming priority is that the filing date of a trademark is not determined by the date of filing of the application for this trademark, but by the date of filing of an application of another earlier trademark.

If all necessary data for the registration is available, we will file the application within 1 business day.

Obstacles to protection are reasons that prevent the registration of a trademark application. After the application is filed, the Trademark Office examines whether there are any obstacles to protection. If there are any obstacles to protection or if same remain after counter-arguments have been filed, the application is rejected. The most common objection to trademark applications is that the trademark is descriptive of goods/services or will not be understood as an indication of origin for other reasons.

A protective brief is deposited online at a central location (the protective brief register), which is accessed by all German courts.

If you fear that an application for a preliminary injunction will be filed against you, you may submit your arguments with a protective writ as a precautionary measure so that the court takes into account not only the applicant’s arguments but also your arguments.

The publication of the application serves the purpose of informing the general public and is intended to prevent collisions which may occur due to the sometimes considerable time difference between filing of the application and registration of the trademark.