Application

Applying for a Trade Mark in Germany

Application for the registration of a trade mark

Please file your application using the form issued by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office. Make sure that the illustration corresponds exactly to the trade mark for which protection is sought. You must also list the goods and services in relation to which you intend to use the trade mark. If this information is missing, we will not be able to accord an application date.

For more detailed information please read the brochure 'Information for Trade Mark Applicants'.

Precise designation of goods and services

You must exactly specify the goods and services in respect of which you intend to use the trade mark, otherwise they cannot be attributed to the correct classes of goods or services. For this reason, your application must contain a list of the relevant goods and/or services. The goods and/or services must be listed by classes, in ascending numerical order. The list must be filed in two copies.

For classification examples and details please see the factsheet "Klasseneinteilung der Waren und Dienstleistungen".

The Alphabetical List of the International Classification of Goods and Services under the Nice Agreement and the Suche (search engine for goods and services) of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office will help you to find the right terms and the correct classes for classifying your goods and services.

Notice:
The more classes of goods or services you indicate, the higher the likelihood of objections by owners of earlier marks to the registration of your trade mark. Furthermore, German Trade Mark Law provides that the trade mark must be put to genuine use concerning all goods and services claimed. This means that you must put your trade mark to commercial use in relation to all goods or services claimed in order to sustain trade mark rights.

Where can you file a trade mark application?

You should send the application to the German Patent and Trade Mark Office in Munich. You can submit your application in person at the office's locations in Munich, Jena and Berlin. Some Patentinformationszentren (patent information centres) accept trade mark applications for transmittal to the German Patent and Trade Mark Office.

E-filing

You wish to file your trade mark application online at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office? In that case, you need an enhanced signature card and the corresponding card reader. For suppliers of signature cards please go to Bundesnetzagentur.

You also need the DPMAdirekt application software for drawing up and validating the application documents. Click here to download the free DPMAdirekt software.

Please note that you cannot file a trade mark application simply by sending an e-mail.