Trademarks
Trademarks identify products and services of a company. Words, letters, numbers, images, but also colors and acoustic signals for example can be trademarks. They can stand for the quality of a company and are relevant assets for its value.
Trademarks, however, are not the only protectable signs. The name of a company is capable of being protected as „business designation“. In Germany the title of a work can be protected as “work title”. The various protectable signs have things in common but also differ considerably, which is important to be aware of to avoid severe negative consequences.
In each individual case we carefully identify your specific protection requirements and provide you with strategic advice with regard to the entire range of trademark protection and related protection options. On the basis of a corresponding search we assist you in choosing a trademark, company name or title that does not collide with older third-party rights. We conduct trademark applications both nationally and internationally and monitor the trademark registers to be able to respond quickly to any younger trademarks that may affect your rights. Should you need to assert your claims in infringement cases, we are of assistance – if necessary through all instances.
>>Consulting Example Trademark Law – Portfolio Administration
We administer the trademark portfolio of a worldwide operating manufacturer of cardboard. All registered trademarks of the company are recorded in our office’s central database. This serves as a basis for controlling all relevant deadlines through our in-house “Tax Department”. Also the client has constant access to up-to-date information about the company’s trademark portfolio via the database.
As soon as new applications are required, we handle them ourselves in Germany, the EU and via the so-called International Trademark. For applications in other countries we cooperate with specialized national trademark law firms and are equally happy to follow corresponding recommendations of our clients. Owing to our activities in international trademark organizations such as ECTA (European Communities Trade Mark Association) and INTA (International Trademark Association) we have good contacts to trademark law firms worldwide, on whose professional services and cost sensitivity we can rely. However, to stay flexible as to the choice of foreign associates of our clients it has been our conscious decision not to join any of the numerous international law firm networks.
We monitor trademark applications worldwide and immediately inform our clients about trademark applications of others that might affect their rights or be in conflict with their interests. In the case of a trademark infringement we make concrete recommendations as to a further way of proceeding.