Enquiry units and search rooms
Enquiry units
The enquiry units of the DPMA in Munich, in the Jena sub-office and in the Technical Information Centre (TIZ) in Berlin are the first contact points for applicants. You can contact the enquiry units personally or by phone to gain information on the filing routes, procedures and application requirements. We are also pleased to answer written enquiries (for example, by fax or e-mail). The enquiry units will also send you forms and information brochures.
The enquiry unit is not authorised to give legal advice. Under the Law on legal counselling, only patent attorneys and attorneys-at-law may provide this type of advice.
The enquiry units can be contacted via the central phone number +49 89 2195-3402.
| Location | Monday - Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|
| DPMA Munich | 8.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m. | 8.00 a.m. - 2.00 p.m. |
| TIZ Berlin | 7.30 a.m. - 3.30 p.m. | 7.30 a.m. - 2.00 p.m. |
| Jena sub-office | 9.00 a.m. - 3.30 p.m. | 9.00 a.m. - 2.00 p.m. |
Free initial consultations for inventors
In close cooperation with the chamber of patent attorneys, the enquiry unit in Munich and the search room in Berlin organise initial consultations for inventors. Patent attorneys offer free initial consultations for inventors at the premises of the DPMA.
In Munich these consultations take place every Wednesday from 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and every Thursday from 2.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. In Berlin, they are held weekly on Thursday from 10.00 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. and fortnightly on Tuesday from 12.30 p.m. to 2.30 p.m. Appointments should be made in advance.
- +49 89 2195-2508 or +49 89 2195-3402 for Munich,
- +49 30 25992-230 or +49 30 25992-231 for Berlin.
Likewise, at the regional level, the patent information centres, many chambers of commerce and industry and chambers of crafts offer free initial consultations for inventors by patent attorneys.
Search rooms of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office in Munich and Berlin
Find out about the search options
In the search rooms of the DPMA you have the opportunity to test various information options on industrial property rights. For example, you can perform prior art and novelty searches and monitor filing activities in specific fields of technology or of specific applicants. Furthermore, you can search for individual patents, trade marks, utility models and designs and identify the legal status of specific applications.
The search rooms have the character of reference libraries. All kinds of documents may be used there, but no documents may be taken out of the search rooms.
Assistance to users
Irrespective of whether you wish to search for specific IP rights or prior art in the field of electrical engineering, the staff of the search rooms will help you choosing the appropriate search tools and explain how to use them correctly.
Collections of patents, trade marks, utility models and designs
Paper collection of classified patent specifications
In the search rooms you have access to the following information sources:
- National and foreign patent documents (access via DEPATIS and on paper collections),
- National and foreign patent, trade mark and design gazettes/ journals,
- EPIDOS-INPADOC indexes on patent documents from all over the world since 1968,
- Legal (procedural) status information on German IP rights via DPMAregister,
- Trade mark databases and dictionaries,
- Designs index, arranged by classes of goods (in Munich the index comprises the German register (index) cards since 1988, in Berlin it additionally comprises about 300,000 publications on nationally and internationally deposited designs),
- Search tools (for example, International Patent Classification, IPC catchword indexes, directories of names, patent databases on CD-ROM),
- Collections of standards, such as DIN, ISO, ASTM
- Books and journals (focusing on technology, sciences and industrial property protection)
Many of the collections are available on CD and can be viewed at work stations in the search room.
Patentinformationssystem DEPATIS
The electronic DEPATIS patent information system has almost completely replaced the paper search file of the patent examiners at the DPMA and the respective collections for the public. Visitors to the public search rooms may use DEPATIS work stations, the same kind of work stations that are used by the DPMA patent examiners.
File inspection
You can inspect case files in the search rooms of the DPMA in Munich and Berlin or at the enquiry office in Jena. You will need to send us a letter requesting the inspection of a case file first (see Sec. 31 Patent Act, Sec. 8(5) Utility Model Act, Sec. 62 Trade Mark Act, Sec. 22 Design Act). We will inform you approximately 2 weeks later that the file is available for inspection. For details on file inspection please click here.
Munich search room
In the Munich search room four DEPATIS work stations and four Internet stations are available. If you wish to use a DEPATIS work station you should make an appointment at:
+49 89 2195-2504 or +49 89 2195-3403 or by e-mail at: info@dpma.de, specifying 'Terminvereinbarung' in the subject line.
| Day | Opening hours |
|---|---|
| Monday through Wednesday | 7.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. |
| Thursday | 7.30 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. (but only to 5.00 p.m. before holidays) |
| Friday | 7.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. |
Berlin search room
In the Berlin search room several DEPATIS work stations and several CD-ROM work stations are available to you for searches for national and foreign patents, utility models, designs and trade marks.
Particularly worth mentioning are the collections of patent specifications from Eastern Europe and the USSR/Russia (from 1924 onwards). These documents are usually not included in the DEPATIS system. Furthermore, many information tools for searches for historical patents are provided at TIZ Berlin.
If you wish to use a DEPATIS work station you should make an appointment at:
+49 30 25 992-230 or +49 30 25992-231
| Day | Opening hours |
|---|---|
| Monday through Wednesday | 7.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. |
| Thursday | 7.30 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. |
| Friday | 7.30 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. |
General terms of use of our search rooms
(1,28 MB) © 2013 Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt | Last updated 13/05/13