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World of Trade Marks
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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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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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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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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Last updated: 5 June 2025
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