The DPMA continued to successfully expand its information and networking activities concerning intellectual property in 2025. At the same time, it consolidated its role as a point of contact and coordination for the various activities of the European Union Intellectual Property Office as well as for federal and state authorities.
As in the previous years, the exchange with national and international players of the IP ecosystem on established best practices formed the basis of our work. This knowledge transfer is essential for jointly scheduling and implementing initiatives such as the SME Fund grant scheme. At the same time, it gives us information that allows us to better understand our stakeholders and to create even more customized services.
In 2025, as part of these efforts, the DPMA participated in a joint research project with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and OTH Regensburg. For this project, the DPMA carried out detailed interviews with German start-ups from particularly innovative sectors. WIPO will publish the study in 2026. It aims to show how innovative start-ups in Germany protect their IP and which obstacles they face when scheduling and implementing their IP strategy.
An important field of action when raising awareness is informing the public, especially SMEs and founders.
In order to pursue this goal, the DPMA strengthened existing co-operations with universities and institutions for training teachers, whilst also implementing new measures to raise awareness. Since spring 2025, for example, we have offered the accessible Brown Bag Seminars on the topics “Copyright” and “Industrial Property Rights at a Glance”. These are short and informative trainings which can be completed during lunch break (while having your brown-bag-lunch).
Via these and other workshops and seminars, the DPMA made thousands of participants aware of the benefits of IP rights in 2025.
Our Office also successfully introduced new print and online publications in 2025. Amongst others, we published the leaflet “Intellectual Property in the digital world”[MS1.1] for the first time. Our publications are widely used. At times they achieve four-digit monthly download figures.
In November 2025, as part of the global “start-up week”, we made successful use of new ways to address the public: with the poster campaign “Dream. Create. Protect. Repeat” we advertised SME support services on numerous public advertising spaces in Berlin and Munich — and we received a lot of positive feedback.
Counterfeiting costs the German economy billions of euros every year. Moreover, fake goods can harm consumers. For this reason, the DPMA has extended its range of information about enforcing IP rights against plagiarism.
The DPMA devised and organised a one-week special training for judges held at the German Judicial Academy on the topic of criminal liability for trade mark and product counterfeiting. For the third time, criminal investigators from public prosecution, police departments and market surveillance authorities were invited by the DPMA to participate in the symposium “IP Awareness and Enforcement”. The participants made intensive use of the event for networking and professional exchange, also across the borders of the German Länder. Last year, the focus was placed on revealing fake shops on the internet as well as illegal online streaming.
True to the credo that messages are most efficient when they are communicated and perceived by the relevant target groups via different channels, the DPMA gave interviews for various reports and articles in the media concerning product and trade mark counterfeiting last year. Economic and consumer programmes on radio and television, in particular, regularly draw on the expertise of our Office.
Further useful information and an overview of our services can be found at the information pages for small and medium-sized enterprises.