The German Patent and Trade Mark Office
Economically successful ideas which succeed in the market will often be copied. Industrial property (IP) rights provide an effective way to fight plagiarism and counterfeiting. Patents and utility models protect technical elements, trade marks protect the "good name" and registered design rights the outward appearance of products. They give the owner the right to seek injunctive relief and to claim damages in case of infringement.
The German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) grants patents, registers trade marks, utility models and designs, and administers these industrial property rights. In addition, the DPMA provides information to the public on IP rights. Together with its predecessors - Kaiserliches Patentamt and Reichspatentamt - the DPMA looks back on more than 140 years of history. At present, the office has approximately 2,550 staff at its locations in Munich, Jena and Berlin.
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