Germany
Fees for registering Germany trademarks
First class：
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Additional class：
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Renewal:
Service Process
Trademark registration time
The current trademark regulations in Germany are mainly based on the Trademark Law promulgated on October 25, 1994 and revised on December 11, 2018, as well as the Trademark Law promulgated on May 11, 2004 and revised on December 12, 2018. The German Patent and Trademark Office is responsible for managing trademark affairs and the official language is German. Trademark rights need to be obtained through registration. Trademark registration is not mandatory, but in order to protect the trademark or renew it, it must be registered in accordance with the law. German trademark registration adopts the principle of "application first", but for trademarks that already have a certain level of popularity, trademark rights can also be claimed through "prior use".
Germany is a signatory to international intellectual property treaties such as the Singapore Treaty, the Paris Convention, the Nice Agreement, the WIPO Convention, and the Trademark Law Treaty. It is also a member of the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol, so trademark registration can be processed through either the "single country registration" or the "Madrid International Registration" method. Meanwhile, considering that Germany is also a member state of the European Union, it can also be protected through EU registration.
Trademark Registration Process
At present, the German government adopts the Nice Classification 11th edition of product and service descriptions and accepts applications for multiple categories in one form. The elements that can be registered as trademarks in Germany include: text, name, graphics, three-dimensional identification, color combination, sound, smell, etc.
If the applicant does not reside in Germany, they must entrust a specialized agent in that country to handle it. The basic materials required for trademark application are:
1. Trademark design;
2. Category and product/service items;
3. Name and address of the applicant;
4.If priority is declared, priority proof documents and corresponding German translations must be provided.
The main process of applying for registration of a German trademark is: application acceptance examination approval issuance announcement. The application will be accepted approximately one month after submission. The examiner will conduct formal and substantive examinations on the application. Formal review mainly examines whether the application requirements and classification information comply with regulations; The substantive examination includes the examination of the distinctiveness of the trademark and whether it violates the prohibition and prohibition clauses. After passing the review, registration can be granted and a registration certificate can be issued; If the review fails, a rejection notice will be issued and the applicant will be required to respond within the time limit specified in the rejection notice. After the approval and issuance of the certificate, an announcement will be arranged, and a 3-month objection period will be set from the announcement date. Any interested party or prior rights holder may raise objections, and the main reasons for raising objections are:
1. Conflict with prior trademarks, such as owning a prior registered trademark;
2. The trademark lacks distinctiveness;
3. The trademark has adverse effects;
4. Conflict with other prior rights, such as trade name rights, design rights, copyrights, personal names, etc.
If there are no objections or objections are not valid during the announcement period, the trademark will be officially registered successfully. In a smooth situation, trademark registration in Germany takes 6-9 months; If there are any objections or rejections encountered during the process, the time will be extended.
Trademark registration materials
The German trademark is valid for 10 years after registration. For trademarks registered before January 14, 2019, the validity period starts from the date of application and ends on the last day of the month in which the application date is located 10 years later. For trademarks registered after or on January 14, 2019, the validity period starts from the date of application and ends on the date of application; Renewal can be processed within 6 months before the expiration date, with a grace period of 6 months; The renewal is valid for 10 years.
The invalidation or revocation application after trademark registration can generally be filed in accordance with the following provisions of Chapter 3 of the German Trademark Law:
1.Article 50: Violation of the "absolute grounds" provision of the Trademark Law;
2.Article 51: Violation of the "relative grounds" provisions of the Trademark Law;
3.Article 49: If a trademark is not actually used in that country for five consecutive years after registration, anyone may apply for revocation; Except for force majeure.
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