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Drinking water is the most precious resource on earth. One in four people worldwide - around two billion people! - has no access to safe drinking water. And almost half of the world's population does not have safe sanitation, according to the United Nations.
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Actually, it's a rather tricky matter: Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Heiliger Nikolaus, Sinterclaas, Père Noël, Weihnachtsmann, Joulupukki - who actually is it who brings us presents? And when? About the metamorphoses of a legendary figure - and the intellectual property rights around it.
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The Nobel Prizes are once again being presented in Stockholm these days. After several recent awards, this year no German can look forward to a prize, but a Swede working in Leipzig can. An American has achieved the feat of winning a Nobel Prize for the second time - only four other scientists ever have managed this..
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In addition to Christmas and Easter, a third holiday now dominates the seasonal offerings in the stores: Halloween. The creepy fest has established itself as a permanent fixture in the calendar and retail trade. It is a million-dollar business worldwide. So it is obvious that intellectual property rights are in demand!
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For two years there was silence on Munich's Theresienwiese due to the pandemic. Now, in 2022, there was an Oktoberfest again. Finally, "O'zapft is!" again, full tents, chicken, rides (and viruses)! And of course, lots and lots of beer. Let's take a look here at the property rights surrounding an age-old cultural asset that is constantly being developed.
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It is said to have happened exactly 70 years ago: On 4 September 1949, Herta Heuwer’s snack stand on the corner of Kantstrasse/Kaiser-Friedrich-Strasse in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin was not very busy. So she experimented with different ingredients like tomato paste, curry powder and Worcestershire sauce.
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In this second pandemic summer of 2022, travelling was and is not quite so easy. So it can be quite a good idea to spend your holidays in your own country. And sometimes a "culinary journey" can also be quite exciting. We have put together a few suggestions for you: Try delicacies across Germany - from "Holsteiner Tilsiter" to "Thüringer Rostbratwurst" and "Schwarzwälder Schinken".
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Two anniversaries at once: in July 2022, the DPMA will look back on 20 years of paperless patent applications, and shortly before that, the DPMA received the two millionth document relating to an IP right at the DPMA - a design application filed via DPMAdirektWeb. This was not always the case.
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It is now 50 years since Munich hosted the Summer Olympics. The buildings for this major event still leave their mark on the city today. Several congenial contributions turned the site of the 1972 Olympics into a unique synthesis of the arts.
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All over the world, fans celebrate Star Wars Day on 4 May. Why on this date in particular? Well, the pronunciation of the date "May the 4th" is very similar to the beginning of the probably most popular sentence from the space saga, "May the force be with you". Incidentally, the phrase has been registered as a word mark since 2020.
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This year, the World Intellectual Property Day 2022’s theme focuses on IP and Youth innovating for a Better Future. We explore how these innovative, energetic and creative minds are driving positive change.
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At a virtual press conference on April 25, this year's "Plagiarius" awards were presented. Since 1977, and thus for the 46th time, Aktion Plagiarius e.V. has awarded the invective prize to manufacturers and retailers of particularly brazen plagiarisms and counterfeits.
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One of the last big questions of mankind is: How does the Easter Bunny actually manage to lay eggs? Generations of biologists, ethnologists and children have racked their brains over this. Recent research suggests that findings in the patent database of the DPMA may lead to the solution of the mystery.
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This year, the World Intellectual Property Day 2022’s theme focuses on IP and Youth innovating for a Better Future. We explore how these innovative, energetic and creative minds are driving positive change.
Read more
Without him, we would not know today that the ball is round and that a match lasts 90 minutes: Josef "Sepp" Herberger. The 125th anniversary of the football philosopher's birth is on 28 March.
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There are few symbols that are known all over the world and are understood everywhere. The "peace sign" is one of them. The famous symbol was invented 64 years ago. These days it can be seen very often again.
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On 13 February, UNESCO celebrates World Radio Day. This year, the theme is ""Radio and Trust". Because despite its more than hundred-year history, radio is still one of the most widely used media´.
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Sledges have been known as a means of transport for thousands of years, especially in snowy regions. In the 19th century, „rodeln“ was discovered as a leisure activity as part of the emerging Alpine tourism. As its popularity grew, more and more new variants of sledges emerged.
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Two German Nobel Prize winners in one year - that hasn't happened for a long time. 2021 is an extremely successful year for science and research in Germany, according to the Academy in Stockholm. The two German laureates in the natural science disciplines are Klaus Hasselmann (physics) and Benjamin List (chemistry).
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On 12 September, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office - IDZ Berlin will participate in the Germany-wide Open Monument Day. The office building at the capital's location can look back on a long and varied history, although the definition of the term "long", especially in connection with buildings, is of course relative.
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In this second pandemic summer of 2021, travelling was and is not quite so easy. So it can be quite a good idea to spend your holidays in your own country. And sometimes a "culinary journey" can also be quite exciting. We have put together a few suggestions for you: Try delicacies across Germany - from "Holsteiner Tilsiter" to "Thüringer Rostbratwurst" and "Schwarzwälder Schinken".
Read more
The European Football Championship starts on 11 June. It is a special tournament: it was supposed to take place in 2020, but had to be postponed because of the pandemic. For the first time, it will not take place in one or two host countries, but in eleven cities across the continent.
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Ten years ago, a new era began at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office: on 1 June 2011, the electronic case file for patents and utility models was launched. From then on, we could process patent and utility model applications fully electronically from receipt at the DPMA to publication.
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June 3rd is the World Day of the Bicycle. With this the UN pay tribute to the "uniqueness, longevity and versatility of the bicycle". For two centuries it has been a „simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation“.
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The day of the handcart is approaching. Ascension Day is Father's Day, and Father's Day is Bollerwagen Day. Up and down the country, joyful men will once again be dragging hand carts around. In them they will transport beer and schnapps, and maybe a grill (and sometimes drunken fathers on the way back).
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What is happiness and how can we find it? This is the question we ask ourselves on the occasion of the "International Day of Happiness", which was established by the United Nations as an international day in 2012 and which we celebrate every year on March 20th.
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Valentine's Day on 14 February is commonly known as the day for lovers. Many show their affection for their better halves with chocolate, flowers and other small and large gifts. Speaking of love: What about love and trade marks?
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The new "Advanced" search mode in DPMAregister offers many options to customise the search form. Furthermore, you can find the legal and procedural status information on patents, utility models, trade marks, designs and the respective publication data online, free of charge, securely and without registration formalities in our online register.
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Switzerland remains the most innovative country in the world. This is the conclusion reached by the Global Innovation Index 2020 (GII 2020) presented on September 2. Sweden is again in second place, followed by the United States of America (USA) in third place. As in previous years, Germany remains in ninth place.
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Over time, registered trade marks may become generic names or common names. This is the case if the trade mark is no longer understood by the relevant public as an indication of commercial origin which distinguishes the product from others, but only as a common name generally used to designate all goods or services of a particular kind, irrespective of their commercial origin.
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He was the first and best performer of James Bond: Sir Sean Connery, who celebrates his 90th birthday on 25 August. Connery has a love-hate relationship with the role of the secret agent who became an icon of pop culture. "James Bond" - armed with industrial property rights and secret weapons - stands for one thing above all else: a lot of money.
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Unfortunately, the Strandkorb still is the beach holiday gadget of the season. Because if you sit in it on the beach, you can be sure to keep the minimum distance required by Corona saftey regulations. Recently, the beach chair has also come into fashion as Covid-compliant concert seating. And it is undergoing constant technical development.
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In this dossier, we report on initial experiences and findings regarding the modernised trademark law, which came into force at the beginning of 2019.
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Valid IP rights are what shape successful IP strategies. A permanently high quality of the IP rights is immensely important and one of the main strategic goals of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA).
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Fans around the world celebrate Star Wars Day on May 4. Why on this date? Well, the pronunciation of the date "May the 4th" is very similar to the beginning of what is probably the most popular sentence in the space saga, "May the force be with you".
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World Day of Creativity and Innovation is intended to encourage people to give free rein to their ideas in order to make the world a better place and improve their place in it. Founded in 2001 in Canada, April 21 has been celebrated in over 50 countries for years.
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In 2019, WIPO has once again recorded rising application figures for patents, trademarks and designs. The number of patent applications rose by 5.2 per cent year-on-year to a total of 265 800. 64 400 trademark applications (+ 5.7 per cent) and 21 807 design applications (+ 10.4 per cent) were also received by WIPO.
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The German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) regularly receives complaints about such letters via customer service. The DPMA positively points out that all these letters are not related to the Office. The Office does not send invoices or requests for payment at any time - neither for the application or renewal of industrial property rights nor for the publication of industrial property rights in the official registers.
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On 10 December, the Nobel Prizes for 2019 will be awarded in Stockholm. John B. Goodenough, who receives the chemistry award, is at the age of 97the oldest Nobel Laureate ever. Esther Duflo however - the only woman to receive a Nobel Prize for 2019 - is the youngest woman to receive the economics award.
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The "Internet of things", or IoT for short, is currently one of the most important technology trends. It has become "a synonym for the connection between the real and the virtual world," said President Cornelia Rudloff-Schäffer at the opening of the conference "Internet of things. Paths to the Patent of IoT Technologies" at the DPMA.
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Once again this year, around 800 inventions are on display at the fair. A multifunctional tool for mathematics classes, a windscreen wiper cleaning device, a safety-optimised heating element for home aquariums – ideas from a great variety of fields.
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Taking beer to Munich would be like carrying coals to Newcastle, owls to Athens or rolling cheese to Switzerland. In Bavaria, beer is generally regarded as a staple food and elixir of life. Munich has a long brewing tradition.
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It is said to have happened exactly 70 years ago: On 4 September 1949, Herta Heuwer’s snack stand on the corner of Kantstrasse/Kaiser-Friedrich-Strasse in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin was not very busy. So she experimented with different ingredients like tomato paste, curry powder and Worcestershire sauce.
Read more
We used to know the “Grüner Punkt” (Green Dot), but now there is also the “Grüner Knopf” (Green Button). This is made possible by the Trade Mark Law Modernisation Act, which came into force at the beginning of the year, on 14 January. It created a new trade mark category, the “certification mark”. The “Grüner Knopf” is the first certification mark that was registered by the DPMA.
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On 8 September, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office - IDZ Berlin will participate in the Germany-wide Open Monument Day. The office building at the capital's location can look back on a long and varied history, although the definition of the term "long", especially in connection with buildings, is of course relative.
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August 2nd is International Beer Day. One could take this as an occasion to drown a couple of pints (the initiators do not have much more in mind either) - or to take a serious look at the property rights around an ancient cultural asset that is constantly being further developed.
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Not only in this hot early summer 2019 we started to sweat a lot. For example, sporting activities are also sweaty matters with which a little desired body odour can be associated. Deodorants, or "antiperspirants and deodorants", have become an integral part of the repertoire of our personal care products. Perhaps less known: Even though the odour problems associated with sweating have been known for thousands of years, deodorant is still being developed and patented.
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It is Europe's largest organisation for applied research - and one of the most active applicants at the DPMA: the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, which is now celebrating its 70th anniversary. In 2018 alone, the Society applied for 434 new patents at the DPMA. This puts it in 17th place in the ranking of the most important applicants.
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According to studies, citizens with foreign roots often set up companies and increasingly contribute to technical innovation. In Munich, the DPMA now hosted an information day - and met guests with ambitious plans.
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Autonomous driving is one of the most important technological trends of recent years. The number of national patent applications (and PCT applications in the national phase) relating to autonomous driving has increased steadily since 2010 and has more than doubled since then.58 percent of patent applications for autonomous driving come from Germany.
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The European Commission contracted the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition and Tax Law (now the ) to carry out a study reviewing the harmonisation process of trade mark law in the European Union. Based on this study, the member states, the Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament prepared a new version of the Trade Marks Directive as well as of the Regulation on the Community trade mark (now called "European Union Trade Mark Regulation").
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Imagine you are driving in your car through a city on a busy road and every few yards, unexpectedly, a dustbin comes rolling onto your lane of traffic. You have to evade each dustbin immediately and avoid jeopardising another road user. Does this sound unrealistic to you? Well, this is just about what is happening in space nowadays.
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The German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) regularly receives complaints about such letters via customer service. The DPMA positively points out that all these letters are not related to the Office. The Office does not send invoices or requests for payment at any time - neither for the application or renewal of industrial property rights nor for the publication of industrial property rights in the official registers.
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Picture credits included in the individual articles.
DEPATISnet, iStock.com, WIPO, Nobel Media AB Photo Nanaka Adachi, Bayern Innovativ, DPMA
Last updated: 22 June 2023
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