GERMANY Law and Practice Contributed by: Thomas Nägele, Steffen Henn, Anke Hofmann and Serpil Dilbaz, SZA Schilling, Zutt & Anschütz
proceedings following the publication of the trade mark. 4.7 Revocation, Change, Amendment or Correction of an Application After the DPMA receives the application, it is no longer possible to alter the trade mark applied for, except if the amendment relates to the correction of errors of wording or obvious mistakes. However, the applicant can withdraw the application at any time or restrict the contained list of goods and services. 4.8 Dividing a Trade Mark Application An applicant may declare to divide an application. The application for the trade mark will continue to be dealt with as a divisional application for the goods and ser - vices listed in the declaration of division. In this case, the seniority of the original application applies for each sub-application. The application documents required must be submit - ted for the divisional application. If they are not sub - mitted within three months of receipt of the declaration of division, or if the fee for the division proceedings is not paid within this period, the divisional application is deemed to have been withdrawn. 4.9 Incorrect Information in an Application See 4.7 Revocation, Change, Amendment or Correc- tion of an Application . 4.10 Refusal of Registration The most relevant absolute grounds for refusal to reg - ister a trade mark are: • the trade mark is not clearly and precisely defined; • lack of distinctiveness; • the trade mark contains descriptive terms that must be kept freely available for general use; • danger of deceiving the public; • an emblem of state included in the trade mark; • offence against public policy or accepted princi - ples of morality; and • the trade mark has been applied for in bad faith, in particular, containing fraudulent material in the application.
However, the lack of distinctiveness may be repudi - ated (see 2.2 Essential Elements of Trade Mark Pro- tection ). If absolute grounds for refusal are identified during the application examination process, the applicant will be notified in writing and will have the opportunity to make a statement. If it does not overcome all deficien - cies stated in the notification, a decision will be taken to refuse the application in whole or in part. In this case, the applicant has the opportunity to have this decision reviewed by filing a request for reconsidera - tion ( Erinnerung ) or appeal proceedings ( Beschwerde ). 4.11 The Madrid System The TMA shall be applied to international trade marks registered in accordance with the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (MMA) and in accordance with the Madrid Protocol of 27 June 1989 Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (PMMA). Under the TMA, the application for the international registration of a trade mark entered in the register in accordance with the MMA or PMMA is to be submit - ted to the DPMA. Internationally PMMA-registered trade marks are to be examined for absolute grounds for refusal in the same way as German trade marks. 5. Trade Mark Procedure for Inter Partes Proceedings 5.1 Timeframes for Filing an Opposition or Cancellation An opposition to a trade mark registration must be filed in writing within three months of the publication of the registration of a trade mark. A cooling-off period to reach an amicable resolution of at least two months is granted at the request of both parties (Section 42 paragraph 4 TMA). German trade mark law stipulates several time limi - tations for remedies regarding the different grounds for cancellation. For example, a cancellation ex offi - cio is only possible with regard to absolute grounds for refusal if the cancellation proceedings are initiated
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