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Announcement of the readable types of data carriers at the DPMA and the formats for the representation of trade marks (Sec. 6a Trade Mark Ordinance [Markenverordnung])

of 10 January 2020

Requirements for the data carriers, types of data carriers accepted

Representations of trade marks which are filed via , or on a data carrier as an attachment to a paper-based application must fulfil the following standards:

The data carrier must be readable and must not contain any viruses or other malicious software. If it does not meet these requirements, the representation shall be deemed not to have been filed.

The representation is to be stored as a file on the root directory of an empty data carrier or on a data carrier which otherwise exclusively contains further attachments relating to the application. The maximum length of the file names is 32 characters.

Generally accepted types of data carriers are CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW. The file formats accepted for the individual types of trade marks are listed below.

File formats accepted for the representation of individual types of trade marks

The file formats accepted depend on the type of trade mark and the requirements for its appropriate representation. For some types of trade marks, only one file format is possible, for others the applicant may choose between several file formats. The following file formats are available for the individual types of trade marks:

JPEG can be used for all types of trade marks except for word marks and multimedia marks.
The standard file format is exclusively JPEG. Submitted files must meet the following requirements:

  • File size: 2 MB maximum
  • Image size: 2835 x 2010 pixels maximum, 945 Pixel pixels in width or 945 Pixel in height minimum
  • Resolution: 96 dpi minimum
  • Colour mode: RGB, greyscale, B&W or CMYK

MP3 can be used for sound marks and other types of trade marks.
The standard file format is exclusively MP3. Submitted files must meet the following requirements:

  • File size: 2 MB maximum
  • Resolution: 8 kHz minimum (speech), 48 kHz maximum (music)
  • Bit depth: 8 or 16 bit
  • Bit rate: 320 kbit/s maximum
  • Channels: 1 (mono) or 2 (stereo)

MP4 can be used for motion marks, multimedia marks, hologram marks and other types of trade marks.
The standard file format is exclusively MP4. Submitted files must meet the following requirements:

  • File size: 20 MB maximum
  • ISO Standard: ISO/IEC 14496-1, ISO/IEC 14496-12 or ISO/IEC 14496-14
  • Audio codec: MP3, AACLC, AAC “main profile”
  • Audio bit rate: 320 kbit/s maximum
  • Video resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels maximum
  • Video codec: H.264, MPEG4 part 10 “baseline profile” or “high profile”
  • Video frame rate: 60 fps maximum
  • Video bitrate: 8,000 kbit/s maximum

JPEG, OBJ, STL, X3D can be used for three-dimensional marks.
The standard file formats are exclusively OBJ, STL and X3D. Files submitted must not exceed a maximum file size of 20MB.

Important:

The overall size of the files submitted on a data darrier, such as the representation of a trade mark and any further attachments to the application form, must not exceed 20MB for a maximum of 20 files.

Last updated: 22 June 2023