Trademark law: Trademark search before a trademark application – German Lawyer helps!

Before a trademark application or before the publication of a new offer or product in Germany or elsewhere, it is advisable to carry out a trademark search in order to become aware of potential problems in trademark law as early as possible. Our German Patent Law Firm and IP Law Firm with “Trademark Attorney” (Patent Lawyer or Certified Intellectual Property Lawyer) will be happy to assist you with this and other issues related to trademark protection. Simply contact us and let us know your request, so that we can jointly coordinate the strategy for the trademark search.

Attention: In course of a German trademark application at the German Patent and Trademark Office (GPTO) in Munich and also in the context of an EU trademark application / Union trademark application at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante, the trademark offices don’t examine whether the trademark applied for infringes the rights of third parties.

However, owners of industrial property rights have three months after the trademark registration (in case of a German trademark) or after the publication of a trademark (in the case of an EU trademark / Union trademark) to file an opposition. This trademark opposition can be based, for example, on identical or similar, earlier rights (including trademark rights or company signs) if these are protected in an identical or similar area and there is a risk of confusion.

In addition to an opposition against the trademark protection of a trademark in Germany or the trademark application of a EU trademark, the mere trademark application can already constitute a trademark infringement and lead to an (expensive) warning letter, e.g. from a Patent Attorney or Trademark Lawyer.

Also against this background, a trademark search – e.g. in the German trademark database for German trademarks or in the Swiss trademark database for Swiss trademarks for a trademark search in Switzerland– is recommended prior to the trademark application or the publication of a new product.

As German and European Patent Attorney and German IP Lawyer’s Office, our “Trademark Attorney” will be happy to help you with the trademark search. Simply contact us to discuss the next steps.