GERMANY Law and Practice Contributed by: Thomas Nägele, Steffen Henn, Anke Hofmann and Serpil Dilbaz, SZA Schilling, Zutt & Anschütz
4.3 Term of Registration The term of registration (and protection) com - mences on the date of application and ends ten years later on the same day and, in the case of trade marks registered before the Trade Mark Modernisation Act was implemented, on the last day of the month corresponding in name to the month in which the date of application falls. The term may be extended by terms of ten years each, potentially indefinitely. The renewal of the trade mark is subject to payment of a renewal fee and, if the renewal is requested for goods and services in more than three classes, an addi - tional class fee per class. A subsequent amendment of the trade mark is only partially possible. For example, while the list of goods and services can be subsequent - ly restricted at any time, an extension to more classes is not possible. The sign applied for itself cannot be subsequently changed. In particular, design marks cannot be updated or refreshed in the course of time. 4.4 Application Requirements The formal requirements for submission of a trade mark application are stipulated in the German Trade Mark Regulation ( Markenverord- nung ). Such application must be submitted in paper form or electronically to the DPMA and must contain the following: • information permitting verification of the iden - tity of the applicant; • a reproduction of the trade mark and an indication of which kind of trade mark shall be registered; and • a list of the goods and/or services for which registration is sought. Any company, partnership or private individual can apply for a trade mark for any type of goods
or services. A representation by an attorney is not mandatory. Applicants without a residence, principal place of business or an establishment in Germany need to appoint an attorney as a domestic representative. After receiving the application and fees, the DPMA examines whether the application meets the formal requirements and whether there are absolute grounds for refusal of the registration of the trade mark. The registration procedure is usually completed within seven to eight months. Multi-class applications are allowed. The fee for the application contains a basic appli - cation fee and class fees. The basic application fee allows an application for up to three classes of goods and/or services (EUR300; or EUR290 for electronic filing). For any further class, a fee of EUR100 is to be paid. 4.5 Use in Commerce Prior to Registration See 2.4 Use in Commerce . 4.6 Consideration of Prior Rights in Registration The DPMA does not check the existence of prior rights. Owners of prior rights can initiate opposi - tion 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 cor - rection of errors of wording or obvious mistakes. However, the applicant can withdraw the appli - cation at any time or restrict the contained list of goods and services.
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