Legal Expertise
Trademarks serve to identify products and services. In addition to conventional word and figurative marks, three-dimensional shapes, colors, acoustic signs or even electronic effects can also be protected as trademarks.
The patent attorneys and attorneys-at-law of WR protect your trademark and your distinctive signs by using all available legal means.
Trademark protection usually arises through registration. In addition to the national trademark, the Union trademark is also available to the owner. It offers cost-effective and uniform protection for the entirety of the EU. With an international registration, a large number of countries can be combined in one application.
However, the German Trademark Act also protects corporate identifiers, such as company names and other designations of a business operation. This also applies to printed matter, sound and film works or comparable company products. Protection arises simply through their use.
Since the Trademark Law Modernization Act came into force, sound trademarks, multimedia trademarks, holograms, and other electronic forms of trademarks can also be registered.
With the help of the Unfair Competition Act (UWG), protection against unlawful imitations can also be enforced.
Prior to filing and using trademark rights, our attorneys conduct collision searches and advise on strategic aspects of trademark portfolios.
We represent clients in the acquisition of trademarks before the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA), the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Our core services naturally also include defending and enforcing your trademark rights in opposition proceedings before the respective offices, as well as infringement proceedings before the competent courts. This includes combating product piracy and preventing unauthorized parallel imports of original goods.
In order to create legal certainty in the use of conflicting trademarks, our attorneys negotiate and draft so-called co-existence agreements. In this way, long and costly court proceedings can be avoided.
Our law firm has an extensive international network at its disposal. In cooperation with foreign law firms specializing in intellectual property protection, we handle our clients' trademark applications worldwide.
