Trademarks
If a name or logo is to be protected, we always check if the name is still available. Then we work out a draft for the desired trademark. After the client’s checking and approval, it is submitted to the German Patent and Trademark Office or - if applicable - to the Harmonization Office, which is in charge of the European mark and the European design. The application process sometimes entails dealing with a patent examiner who wants to reject the registration, or with the owners of older trademarks who have filed an objection.
Continued
Any newly published identical trademarks that can be mixed up are monitored so that the client can file an objection against such bothersome trademarks within a relatively short time (the deadline cannot be extended). Such an objection is important to prevent dilution of one’s own trademark through the toleration of other similar trademarks. Such monitoring activities are carried out on a large scale.