IP rights in figures
Patents
153,654
patents in force on 31/12/2024
45,242 (+6.0%)
examination procedures concluded
23,944 (+7.1%)
grants published
59260
+1.0%
Applications in total and change in %
19.196
-4.8%
including applications from abroad
92.2%
Online applications
(National patent applications)
Utility models
64.009
utility models in force on 31/12/2024
9,921 (+6.5%)
registration procedures concluded
9.064 (+8.9%)
with registration
9577
-1.3%
Applications in total and change in %
4,343
+3.7%
including applications from abroad
76.2%
Online applications
(National utility model applications)
Trade marks
897,701
trade marks in force on 31/12/2024
74,889 (+5.8%)
registration procedures concluded
49,991 (+2.7%)
with registration
77221
+2.6%
National applications in total and change in %
6,916
+21.7%
including applications from abroad
87.1%
Online applications
(National trade mark applications)
Designs
238,193
designs in force on 31/12/2024
4,013 (+6.1%)
procedures concluded for a total of 30,675 designs
3,549 (+4.7%)
with registration for a total of 28,024 designs
28024
+3.7%
Registered designs in total and change in %
2,057
+28.0%
including applications from abroad
92.0%
Online applications
(Design applications)
PDF version
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PrefaceDear readers,
The prospects are better than the current situation, Germany has many opportunities in terms of AI and our country could become world leader in important future technologies: some of you may hardly believe it, but these sentences are not merely wishful thinking. They are headlines from the year 2025, based on the statements of renowned experts. The pessimistic mood of the last years, influenced by wars and crises, is cautiously giving way to an optimistic — or let us say: an opportunity-oriented — outlook. And the political decision to make investments of historic proportions gives further impetus to this development. The media are talking about a “€1 trillion windfall”.
Germany’s and Europe’s role in the world will also depend on whether we succeed in shaping the industries of the future. The confidence to keep pace with the most innovative countries in regard to key technologies is therefore of particular importance. The DPMA’s annual report of 2024 justifies this confidence: an analysis of the number of patent applications that have been published for important technologies in the last years indicates that lately Germany has been catching up in the field of digital technologies. However, the analysis also shows that, in the long run, our country has lost ground overall.
So where does this path lead us? Unfortunately, it is the nature of opportunities that they can be missed. This is why combining our strengths and acting together and with determination matters more than ever. In its coalition agreement, the new federal government emphasised the great strategic importance the protection of intellectual property has for supporting new technologies — we will present a national IP strategy, it says. And as DPMA President, let me state clearly: we are ready whenever and wherever our expertise is needed for this!
On the following pages, you can find out more about the development of applications for the registered IP rights patent, utility model, trade mark and design in Germany. You will also gain insights into what the DPMA does in order to protect intellectual property and to raise public awareness of this protection’s value. The article by SPRIND, the Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation, also explains the immense importance IP rights have for the commercial success of ground-breaking innovations, for increasing economic prosperity and for contributing to solving social problems.
I hope you enjoy this report — and stay innovative!
Yours, Eva Schewior
IP rights explained simply
Before you register your trademark, you should make sure that it is unique and unmistakable. In this video, you will learn how to avoid potential confusion and take the necessary steps to avoid legal conflicts. Discover useful tools and strategies to prevent later contradictions and warnings and to optimally protect your intellectual property! The video offers the option of English subtitles. For information on other explanatory videos and our YouTube channel, read on in this article.
Dear users, if you follow this link, you will leave our website to access an external link from YouTube.
Tasks and organisationThe German Patent and Trade Mark Office: first-hand service and quality.
Every day, our staff experience first-hand what it means to be part of the “Land of Ideas”. It is the ideas of our customers who consciously choose the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) to protect their know-how. This is because effective action against plagiarism and counterfeiting is possible, above all, on the basis of IP rights: Patents, utility models, trade marks and designs effectively protect intellectual property — be it a technical invention, a creative trade mark or the colours and shapes of a new product.
The DPMA is the German centre of expertise for the protection of intellectual property. A higher federal authority, it is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection. With the examination of IP rights and the provision of services, our office promotes the innovative power and creativity of industry and plays an essential role in the international IP system. We examine inventions, grant patents, register trade marks, utility models and designs and manage, and inform the public of, IP rights. As the largest national patent office in Europe and the sixth largest national patent office in the world, our office stands for the future of Germany as a country of inventors in a globalised economy.
Its staff of approximately 2,800 at four locations provide services to inventors and companies.
- Munich
DPMA headquarters including senior management, administration and legal divisions as well as patent, trade mark and utility model divisions, arbitration boards - Jena
Sub-office with administrative and IT units as well as design division, an additional trade mark division and three patent divisions that are being established - Berlin
DPMA Information and Service Centre
(DPMA-IDZ) - Hauzenberg
Branch office with several teams for provision of information and for Customer Care and Services
In organisational terms, the DPMA is divided into four Directorates General:
Directorate General 1 — Patents and Utility Models
- More than 1,000 patent examiners organised in five clusters (Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Technology, Electrical Engineering, Chemistry and Medical Engineering as well as Physics) with 40 patent divisions in total
- Utility model and topography division
- Patent and utility model administration
Directorate General 2 — Information
- Information services for the public and internal information services: database search, library, classification systems, Customer Care and Services, Internet editorial office
- Support for the 16 German patent information centres
- Operation and further development of all information technologies of the DPMA
Directorate General 3 — Trade Marks and Designs
- 13 teams in three divisions for trade mark examination
- Trade mark cancellation division
- Design division with design unit
Directorate General 4 — Administration and Law
- 16 specialist areas in four divisions, occupational health management
- All administrative tasks, including personnel and facility management, organisation as well as budget and legal affairs
- Patent attorneys and other agents as well as supervision of collective management organisations under the Act on Collective Management Organisations (Verwertungsgesellschaftengesetz)
Senior management
Eva Schewior
Bernd Maile
Dr Maria Skottke-Klein
Heads of the Directorates General
Patents and Utility Models
Dr Bernd Läßiger
Information
Robert Lemperle
Trade Marks and Designs
Katharina Mirbt
Administration and Law
Marion Kreß