What are the most common types of trademark disputes in Germany? Quite common are trademark infringement disputes involving the infringement of an older registered trademark by a younger trademark that is being used in violation of the law. As ownership of a trademark is determined on a first-to-file basis, it is therefore highly recommended to register trademarks for goods and services offered in Germany- after a thorough research whether the trademark is still available. Laura Rothmund-Feise is active in German, European and international trademark law. She has experience in the establishment, management and defense of international trademark portfolios, the development of filing strategies worldwide and the management of proceedings before the German Patent and Trademark Office and the European Union Intellectual Property Office. Her practice also focuses on litigation in trademark matters and the coordination of international trademark infringement proceedings. She is also active in design law, competition law, license agreement law and acts as a litigator in utility model and patent law. Laura Rothmund-Feise is an attorney-at-Law and certified IP Lawyer. German Trademark Law also provides protection of unregistered trademarks; however, the requirements for establishing rights based on the mere use are very high. Rights on unregistered trademarks are established if a sign that has been used in commerce as a trademark for the relevant goods and services has acquired a reputation among the relevant public- which is difficult and time-consuming to prove. Use needs to be proven within the whole territory of Germany. If a sign has acquired a reputation only within a certain territory in Germany, protection is limited to that area. In this case, the trademark owner’s legal remedies are also limited to that area – that is, the trademark owner may not prohibit use in Germany outside 24 LAWYER MONTHLY DECEMBER 2023 Trademark Infringement Enforcements in Germany Contact Laura Rothmund-Feise Email: rothmund@pat-ks.de Stumpf Patentanwälte PartGmbB Alte Weinsteige 73 D-70597 Stuttgart Tel: +49[0] 711. 658 381-0 Fax: +49[0] 711. 658 381-55 Email: office@pat-ks.de with Laura Rothmund-Feise at Stumpf Patentanwälte
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