Scent marks are in principle registrable as well. The exact requirements for registrability, however, have yet to be proven in practice. The permanent definition of the trademark is particularly problematic.

The scope of protection of your trademark indicates in which cases you can successfully enforce your exclusive right and in which you cannot. The assessment of the scope of protection requires an examination in each individual case.

The Trademark Office does not check whether similar or identical trademarks have already been registered. Therefore, prior to applying for a trademark, a search should be conducted to determine whether the planned trademark infringes upon earlier rights.

see Research

When applying for an EU Trade Mark, it is possible to claim the seniority of an identical earlier national trademark. If the protection of the national trademark then expires, it is treated as if it still existed.

see Research

A slogan that includes several words can be registered as a word mark.

Denotes an acoustic mark consisting of sounds and noises, such as a short, characteristic sound frequency (“jingle”). When applying for and registering such trademarks, special requirements apply to the documents to be submitted.

Specialist lawyer [German: “Fachanwalt”] is a designation requiring a license, which lawyers in Germany may use if they have acquired special knowledge and experience in a certain field of law, such as in the protection of intellectual property rights. Our lawyers are Specialist lawyers in intellectual property law.

The geographical protection of an International Trademark may be extended to additional countries by a subsequent extension of protection after the International Trademark has been registered.