The trademarkas proof of origin and advertising medium
A trademark serves as an indication of the origin of a product or service. The exclusive right to the trademark is intended to enable the owner to individualize his goods and services in competition with competing goods and services of other companies as originating from his business operations and to bring them to bear. In the context of advertising, the trademark is intended to convey a certain impression of a product or service.
Trademarksas valuable assetsin the company
A trademark stands for quality and is intended to evoke a recognition effect in the buyer in order to persuade him to buy this particular product or choose this particular service provider from the diverse range of goods and services on the market. This applies to consumer products as well as capital goods.
The term of protection of a trademark is initially ten years and can be extended as often as required for a further ten years, so that a trademark can represent a permanent company value.
Trademark elementsand requirements for protection
The trademark is made up of two components:
- the sign which is generally understood by the trademark, e.g. a word, a graphic representation such as a picture or a color, or often a combination of these, and
- the product or service for which the mark is used.
The trademark is a property right that has been examined for absolute grounds for refusal and therefore has a certain legal validity. This means that there are legal limits to creativity in the choice of the mark in the public interest, which are examined during the registration procedure, e.g. by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA). This is intended to ensure, for example, that the granting of a monopoly does not unduly restrict other market participants in their freedom of action.
However, an examination of relative grounds for refusal, i.e. the collision of a trademark with existing earlier trademarks and other third-party property rights, is not carried out at the time of registration by the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA), but only afterwards on the initiative of third parties as opposition proceedings before the DPMA. It is therefore advisable to carry out a search for existing conflicting earlier third-party trademarks yourself before filing the application.
Obligation to use the trademark
Furthermore, a trademark – after a five-year grace period – is subject to an obligation of genuine use. If this does not happen, at least some of the registered goods and services may be canceled at the request of a third party.
The registration of a German trademark at the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA), the registration of an EU-wide Community trademark at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante as well as national trademarks in other countries, if applicable, is required. as an international trademark application.