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140 years of the patent office in Germany

2017, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office looked back at its history, which began in Berlin, 140 years ago: In 1877, the Imperial Patent Office was founded there, the first nation-wide institution for industrial property protection in Germany.

Throughout the jubilee year, we provided monthly insights into the history of the office:

Join us on an exciting journey through time!

• 1877 to 1890: the patent office comes into being in January
• The Imperial Patent Office from 1891 to 1900 in February
• Sophisticated architecture: the Imperial Patent Office from 1901 to 1910 in March
• Difficult years, times of major changes: the Imperial Patent Office from 1911 to 1920 in April
• 1921 to 1930: the Golden Twenties and an anniversary in May
• Between two world wars: the Reichspatentamt from 1931 to 1940 in June
• From World War II to the new patent offices in East and West Germany: the years 1941 to 1950 in July
• 1951 to 1960: new building in Munich, big bang in Berlin in August
• 1961 to 1970: “The Patent Office in transformation” in September

• 1971 to 1985: years of harmonisation and progress in October
• 1986 to 2000: The German Patent Office until the turn of the millennium in November
• From 2001 to 2017: the DPMA becomes a service provider with a strategy in December

Do you want to submerge yourself into the history of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office and know what sources we have used?
Then, we recommend that you read our bibliographic references (in German).

Picture: DPMA

Last updated: 23 January 2024