Trademark Law in Germany
If you have a Trademark Law problem in Germany you should get a local lawyer to deal with it. Trademark Law is a particularly sensitive area of Intellectual Property Law. Product Piracy, Search Engine Optimization and infringement of trademark rights through the use of similar trademarks are areas where warning letters are sent out and received and lawsuits for cease and desist orders and substantial damage claims are conducted. The value of dispute easily reaches 6-figure amounts.
Trademarks can represent a major part of the company value and therefore the protection and creation of trademark rights by registration at the various trademark offices is imperative.
Trademark licence contracts represent the instrument for the exploitation of trademark rights: the licensee is provided with the exclusive access to a customer base and the licensor can gain profit from his trademark investment.
A trademark infringement case can come in different disguises: the use of similar trademarks, classic trademark or product piracy, registration of domains, SEO, product description, parallel import, etc. The enforcement od a cease and desist claim must be the priority of any trademark rightsholder – the dispute about a tradenmark infringement at the civil law courts can be supplemented by procedures for cancellation at the trademark offices for tactical reasons. Damage claims arising out of trademark infringements are unsually secondary to cease and desist claims but they can eradicate whole businesses.
In German law Trademark Law is often coupled with Competition Law issues and sometimes Design or Copyright Law as well as Civil law questions.
Since many years Attorney Eva Dzepina counsels and represents clients with regards to international Trademark Law disputes, in litigation, contract drafting and application, opposition and cancellation procedures before the Trademark Offices of the EUIPO, the German Trademark and Patent Office DPMA and the WIPO. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with her.
Email: dzepina@borgelt.de
Telephone: +49.211.5858990
