Intelligent Protection and
Collaborative Advice

Research

If you want to register a trademark for yourself, we will first develop a strategy with you on how your interests can be best protected. In doing so, we check whether the registration requirements are met and then select the appropriate form of trademark (logo or figurative mark, word mark, word/figurative mark, 3D mark, etc.). We will create a tailored list of goods and services with you. As part of this research, we check the availability of the desired designation, logo, or other trademark form for the selected goods/services.

Registration

For the registration, we handle the proceedings before the respective authority and, if necessary, address official objections due to absolute grounds for refusal (for example, a trademark may be rejected as “descriptive”). If third parties assert older rights, we represent you in opposition proceedings. In this context, we also draft coexistence agreements, which often allow opposition proceedings to be settled.

International Protection

In addition to national proceedings before the German Patent and Trademark Office and the Federal Patent Court (BPatG), we also represent you before the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the international authority, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). For the protection, defense, and enforcement of your trademarks abroad, we can draw upon a comprehensive network of colleagues in all countries of the world, with whom we have been working trustfully for many years.

For trademark protection beyond Germany, there are now a number of options. Protection is possible as a national individual trademark, as a Union Trademark (formerly: European Community Trademark), or bundled for several countries as an International Registration under the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks or its Protocol. The protection options differ in terms of the requirements for protection, the regulations for use, and, not least, the costs. We help you find the most favorable protection option depending on the desired geographical scope.

Defense and Enforcement of Trademarks

As part of our so-called collision monitoring, we identify for you more recent third-party signs that are identical or similar to your trademark and assert your rights in opposition proceedings. In the event of infringements, we help you to enforce your rights out of court and/or by way of legal action. Where necessary, we cooperate with specialized attorneys. If third parties use your trademarks without authorization, a request for authorization or a warning letter is the means of choice in the first step. Conversely, if you have received a warning letter in the course of your business activities, we will work with you to develop an expedient strategy for defense or avoidance. We also advise and represent you after the registration of your trademark in the event of attacks on your intellectual property right in cancellation proceedings. Grounds for cancellation, in addition to earlier rights or lack of registrability, are primarily revocation due to non-use.

License Agreements

If you want to allow third parties to use your trademark or want to use someone else’s trademark, we will conduct the negotiations for you and draft the necessary license agreement.