German trademark filing with the DPMA

Additional charges

For an office objection, this handling fee also covers the brief initial assessment and the estimate for further work described in the procedure. Preparing or filing a substantive response requires separate agreement.

Professional charges exclude VAT where applicable. Responses to office objections and opposition proceedings are charged separately.

Services requiring separate instructions

• Responding to objections raised by the office.
• Representation in opposition proceedings.

The German trademark registration procedure

1. 1

   Your firm submits instructions

   Your firm instructs us through the Filing Portal or an agreed API integration. After submitting your instructions, you can request an email confirming their submission. This does not confirm acceptance of the engagement, which we confirm separately before filing. We communicate with your instructing firm; your client remains the applicant and your firm’s client.

2. 2

   Formal review and translation

   We check the application details and documents for formal requirements. Where needed, we translate the goods and services specification into German. Translation of the specification is charged at €10 per class. When translating, we aim to use harmonised, pre-accepted goods and services terms wherever they accurately reflect your firm’s intended scope of protection. This helps speed up examination and reduces the risk of objections to the wording or classification.

3. 3

   Filing with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA)

   Once the documents are complete and consistent and any required translations are ready, we file the application. We usually file within one to two working days of receiving instructions, provided the necessary information is complete. Please agree any urgent filing date with us in advance.

4. 4

   Filing receipt and application number

   Immediately after electronic filing, the DPMA provides a submission receipt and the application number, which we send to your firm. In our experience, a further official filing confirmation follows after about three days; we forward this as well. These office processing times may vary.

5. 5

   Examination by the office

   Examination begins once the official application fee has been paid. The office examines the formal requirements and absolute grounds for refusal, such as a lack of distinctive character. This examination does not replace a trademark availability or similarity search.

6. 6

   Office objections: your firm chooses the response

   If the office identifies deficiencies, we send your firm the official communication, a translation into your preferred language, a brief initial assessment and an estimate of the work and costs of addressing the objection. The €45 fee per deadline-bearing communication includes forwarding, translation, recording and monitoring the deadline. Your firm chooses whether we provide full support based on its instructions, review its draft, or simply file a response it prepares. For full support, we propose how to address the deficiencies and, where appropriate, include a draft response for approval. Additional work is agreed in advance and billed at the agreed hourly rate in six-minute increments, with each started increment charged in full, unless otherwise agreed.

7. 7

   Registration, certificate and opposition period

   If the requirements are met and any deficiencies have been resolved, the DPMA registers the trademark and publishes the registration. We send your firm the registration report and a scan of the certificate. We retain the original and can forward it on request for €25. The three-month opposition period begins after publication of the registration. Receiving a registration report therefore does not mean that no further opposition can be filed.

8. 8

   Completion and continued representation

   If registration is completed and no opposition has been filed within the opposition period, the initial filing assignment is complete. If an opposition is filed, we report it to your firm and agree the next steps and any additional work separately. We report the outcome, including whether the registration is maintained in full, maintained for only some goods or services, or cancelled in full. We remain recorded as representative until your firm instructs us otherwise.

Protection for ten years from filing

For both new German trademarks and EU trademarks, the ten-year term is calculated from the application’s filing date. Protection can be renewed for further ten-year periods. Renewal instructions and the applicable fees are agreed separately.