Trademarks must be suited to distinguish identical goods and services of specific companies from others. Therefore, trademarks must be distinctive.

In principle, trademarks may consist of any distinctive signs, that can be displayed in a reproducible manner, in particular words, images, letters, numbers and colors. In addition multimedia trademarks can be protected.

Excluded from registration are, for example, signs, that

• breach public order and good morals.

• consist exclusively of signs which may serve, in trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin or the time of production of the goods or of rendering of the service.

• consist exclusively of signs and indications which have become customary as designation for the good or service in the current language or in the bona fide and established practices of the trade.

• are of such a nature as to deceive the public, for instance as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of the goods or service.

Besides examination of the mentioned absolute requirements for protection it should be examined if your trademark encroaches on existing older rights. This can be found out by us within the framework of our research for older rights.

A sign can only be registered in association to those goods and services that are supposed to be branded by that sign. Hence, the classifications of goods and services have to be declared together with the trademark during the trade mark application process. Compiling the classifications of goods and services is also one of our services we offer.