Protect brands. Create added value. We are your experts in all matters of trademark law.
Trademark Law
We manage the portfolios of medium-sized companies and major international corporations with over 1,000 brands.
From defining the registration strategy to examining protectability and ongoing collision monitoring, our team specializes in the support and further development of sophisticated trademark and design portfolios.
Our international network of leading law firms allows us to register and defend trademarks and designs in all relevant jurisdictions.
At HARTE-BAVENDAMM, we think strategically, offer reliable advice and act decisively – for the best protection of your industrial property rights.
We assist you in trademark registration and provide defense against cancellation in all proceedings before the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) and the EUIPO.
Our team has many years of experience in application, opposition, cancellation and appeal proceedings before the DPMA and the German Federal Patent Court (BPatG).
Operating across Europe, we are experts in proceedings before the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and actions litigated before the General Court of the European Union in Luxembourg (GC).
Thanks to our standardized processes and wealth of experience, we ensure efficient, prompt, and cost-effective action even in the most complex and intricate administrative proceedings.
We specialize in consistent and vigorous representation in all trademark disputes.
Trademark infringement proceedings are at the heart of our expertise: we vigorously advocate for the enforcement and protection of your trademarks and signs in court. Our track record includes significant victories in groundbreaking cases at both the German Federal Court of Justice and the European Court of Justice. However, our primary focus is not on making legal history but on efficiently advancing your commercial interests.
At times, it's prudent to resolve a dispute outside of court. We identify such instances and facilitate resolutions that conserve your resources.
Whether it be a cease-and-desist letter, preliminary injunction, or court action: We work with our clients to determine the best strategy and implement it in a targeted manner.
Efficient and cost-effective measures to combat counterfeit products and illegal parallel imports.
Requests submitted to customs authorities can help prevent the import and export of infringing goods at the external borders of the EU or Germany. These goods may be seized or promptly destroyed.
We maintain strong relationships with German customs authorities, especially at key locations like the Port of Hamburg and international exhibition centers such as Cologne, Dusseldorf, and Frankfurt. This enables us to coordinate procedures seamlessly across Europe.
On the subject: From our IP blog
Trademarks are used to identify the source of goods and services. Figurative marks in particular are highly recognizable – a few clear lines or a concise shape are often enough to instantly identify a trademark. However, not every figurative sign can be protected as a trademark. While simple figurative marks, such as the famous double-arched "M" of McDonald's, are inherently distinctive and easily recognized even in another figurative pattern, abstract geometric basic shapes are denied distinctiveness and, if registered, are granted only a very limited scope of protection.
The big hype surrounding the trendy chocolate is probably over, but the legal repercussions are in full swing. The question of whether “Dubai Chocolate” must actually be produced in Dubai, continues to be the subject of controversial debate. Even the District Court of Cologne is divided.
In Germany, the prohibition of infringing acts by means of a preliminary injunction is a very effective and probably unique instrument, at least in the EU, for the immediate enforcement of intellectual property rights. The most important procedural prerequisite for granting a preliminary injunction is "urgency". The requirements differ depending on the court district. This article highlights the key principles established by case law of the courts of Hamburg.
The hype surrounding the trendy chocolate is taking on more and more bizarre forms. Customs recently confiscated 90 kg of "Dubai chocolate" from a woman at Hamburg airport. The woman had tried to smuggle in 460 bars of the popular confectionary from Istanbul, apparently aiming at selling them on the German market for a profit. But wait a minute, "Dubai chocolate" from Turkey? Is that even possible?
Three reasons for choosing HARTE-BAVENDAMM
Satisfied clients, numerous top-tier rankings, major professional publications, extensive litigation experience: intellectual property law is our core competence.
We represent your interests with ingenuity and dedication. We protect your intellectual property and develop creative strategies. Complex cases are our strength.
As a reliable partner, we provide our clients with resolute, poised, and effective guidance. In challenging conflict scenarios, our team is well aware that cooler heads always prevail and excel at delivering valuable and advantageous solutions to our clients.
