During his inauguration visit at the DPMA in Munich, Federal Minister of Justice Dr Marco Buschmann highlighted the great importance of the DPMA for the work of the federal government. “We, the federal government, wish to further expand the undisputable competence of the DPMA,” the Minister said. He added that he appreciated the technical competence and the commitment of the many patent examiners, as did the industry, referring to the DPMA and its employees as an “important pillar” of the government’s work. Federal Minister Buschmann was accompanied on his visit by Parliamentary State Secretary Benjamin Strasser and State Secretary Dr Angelika Schlunck.

Dr Thorsten Lieb (FDP) and Esther Dilcher (SPD), budget rapporteurs in charge of the DPMA of the parliamentary groups of the governing parties, visited Munich and gained a broad overview of the office, its mandate and its services. Philipp Hartewig (FDP), member of the legal committee, accompanied the delegation.

„During our intense talks, the great interest in our tasks and challenges was palpable, as was the willingness to support us at the best possible with the financial means to optimise our services for the industry,” DPMA President Rudloff-Schäffer stated after the meeting.

In 2022, the DPMA celebrated its 145th anniversary: “The German Patent and Trade Mark Office has a long tradition and it shapes the future,” DPMA President Cornelia Rudloff-Schäffer said. “Today’s patents highlight tomorrow’s technology. The protection of intellectual property creates values, makes the German industry competitive and robust, and is thus the basis for growth and wealth.” We have re-edited the article on our office’s history on our website. Moreover, we have summarized the DPMA’s eventful history in a video. Take a look and experience 145 years of the DPMA in an entertaining time lapse.

DPMA President Cornelia Rudloff-Schäffer participated in the IP Day in Stuttgart via video message. In her speech, she pointed out the major advantages of the German patent. She highlighted that, especially against the backdrop of the introduction of the European Unitary Patent, German patents and utility models could play a crucial role in IP rights strategies. President Rudloff-Schäffer stressed not only the advantages related to costs, but also the high quality and flexibility of the German system: “Whatever the changes, it is particularly important to us that you can continue to rely on the outstanding quality of our examination and services.”

Welcome to the DPMA: Our new colleagues are moving in.

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Recently, about 120,000 new staff have joined the DPMA. At its Munich locations in Schwere-Reiter-Straße and Cincinnatistraße, the DPMA has had beehives installed on the green spaces of the office buildings, thus setting another example in terms of sustainability.

A professional beekeeper who adopts an ecological approach and takes the bees’ rhythm of life as orientation has arranged their new home in a way appropriate to the species. In this video, you can watch the bees move in.

In September 2022, the sixth edition of the patent information centres’ (PIZ) nationwide action week took place. The motto was “IP strategies for SME”. During that week, the PIZ offered counselling for SME on adding value and avoiding risks in the field of IP. All counselling was free of charge, neutral and confidential. Here, you can find out more about this series of events that is going to be organised again in September 2023 as a cooperation between the PIZ and the DPMA.

In collaboration with Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the German Brands Association (Markenverband e.V.), the DPMA organised the third Jena Design Law Day on 1 September 2022.

The programme of the symposium included presentations and discussions on the reform of the German design legislation, the current German and European case law in design cases and the DPMA’s decision policy as well as the Federal Patent Court’s national jurisdiction.

The Jena Design Law Day taking place in yearly alternation with the Jena Trade Mark Law Day, the latter’s 14th edition will be organised next year, while the next Design Law Day is scheduled for the year 2024.

Visitors were invited to observe “squaring the circle” and other optical illusions at our hands-on booth at the Long Night of the Sciences in Jena.

In addition to optical illusions, visitors of our booth were able to catch up on protection against other types of deceit. Industrial IP rights protect against copies and deceits based on plagiarism and imitation. A quiz at our booth provided information on this subject in a playful manner. The numerous participating companies and research institutions welcomed a total of around 10,000 guests at the Long Night of the Sciences.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the form of its protectability is a topic under much discussion between industry and lawyers. This became clear once more during the symposium “Patents for software and business models” in November 2022 at the DPMA, where experts from industry, research and administration exchanged views and information on the related topics. AI, software solutions and digital business models are blossoming and keep finding their way, to a steadily growing extent, into technology and daily life. The symposium offered space for a cross-technological and cross-sectoral assessment of the current situation.

The very popular Jena lectures on industrial property and copyright have been held since 2001. They were launched by our Jena sub-office in cooperation with Professor Dr Volker Michael Jänich (Gerd Bucerius Chair of Civil Law with German and International Industrial Property Protection, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena). Since then, IP experts have presented and discussed current intellectual property issues during this lecture series several times a year.

With the technical support of the Friedrich Schiller University, it was possible to organise a total of four events in 2021 online or in a hybrid format for the numerous interested guests, despite the restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2022, this was, unfortunately, not feasible, for different reasons. However, the presentation series will be continued in 2023.

The centre-east district groups of the Association of Intellectual Property Experts (VPP) and the German Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (GRUR) support the public series of lectures, for which admission is free, as co-organisers.

Would you like to be invited to the Jena lectures? Please contact Ms Daniela Wagner (telephone: +49 3641 405501, e-mail: daniela.wagner@dpma.de).