IP lawyer in Germany

Due to the complex nature of this legal framework and Germany’s regulations, an IP lawyer is a valuable business partner and crucial to setting up IP contracts in your favour.

Whether you need to navigate the specific landscapes of German IP law or the broader EU framework, there are multiple layers to IP registrations, regulations, and enforcement. To ease the challenge on your business, you should seek the guidance of an experienced IP lawyer from Germany. These services can cover representation in and out of court:

• warning letters
• cease-and-desist declarations
• contractual penalty claims
• litigation – in particular preliminary injunction proceedings

Our clients are traditional medium-sized companies with annual sales of up to € 300 million. They include: 

• some of Germany’s best-known online retailers 
• well-known brand manufacturers 
• traditional family businesses
• wholesalers
• brand and advertising agencies 
• family offices

We also advise several industry associations on an ongoing basis. We have particular experience in the online retail, advertising, wholesale, textile and fashion, shoe and leather goods and cosmetics industries.

Because IP law covers many potential areas of expertise, we focus specifically on trademark law, competition law, design law and copyright law. Through excellent legal knowledge, many years of experience and personal integrity, we have proven ourselves as competent legal partners for discerning SMEs. Our many demonstrable successes have also been achieved through creativity and a keen sense of proportion.

A common IP asset is found in trademarks. These are, per definition, distinctive signs or symbols used to identify and differentiate a company’s goods or services from those of others. 

As such, trademarks are a crucial factor for brands: They protect its identity but also its reputation with partners and customers. German trademark law allows businesses to secure their trademarks through registration. With the right qualifications, an IP lawyer from Germany can also help with the trademark registration in Germany. However, IP lawyers can assist businesses through various processes:

• Advice and representation in cases of trademark infringement
• warning letters for trademark infringement
• trademark applications and trademark searches

Of further note are the different types of trademarks recognised in Germany, including: 

• word marks
• figurative marks 
• three-dimensional trademarks

Beyond trademark law, competition, and advertising laws are equally significant for businesses and their consumers: These legal frameworks exist to protect brands and people from unfair practices. Therefore, they cover the competition and advertising aspects of IP with separate and specific regulations. 

Under German competition law, it is ensured that:

• companies engage in fair business practices
• misleading advertising is prevented 
• unfair promotions are prevented
• unethical tactics with potential harm to competitors or consumers don’t arise

The aim is not only to keep competition fair but also to prevent monopolistic practices, as these can harm both customers and innovation. To ensure legal compliance, an IP lawyer from Germany may also assist with advice and representation in unfair competition law, antitrust law, in particular in antitrust supply claims.

Since advertising also plays an important role for businesses and how they use their IP, advertising laws specifically govern this promotion, particularly with regard to truthfulness and transparency. Especially misleading advertising can lead to costly legal disputes and damage to a company’s reputation. On this field, an IP lawyer from Germany can advise and assist you:

• with advice and representation in warning letters in competition law
• in claims of misleading advertising
• in claims of unfair business practices 
• in the law on the advertising of health products and health claims

One very specific but also common aspect of IP issues revolves around the visual recognition of a design. As such, design laws protect the visual appearance of a product, such as: 

• shape
• pattern
• colour
• unique identity

In Germany design rights secure the aesthetics of a product and how these may be implemented by whom. Because of this, IP lawyers in Germany working on design law often deal with:

• advice and research
• registration of designs
• representation in cases of infringement of designs

In the cases of authorship – as for works of art as well as for simple product photos– IP lawyers in Germany often specialize in copyright law. Generally speaking, a copyright automatically arises when an intellectual, creative or artistic work is made – without the need for formal registration.

However, official copyright protection eases the creator’s means to prevent unauthorized usage, such as through copying, distributing or modifying a work without the creator’s consent. In these cases, IP lawyer in Germany help clients: 

• with issuing cease-and-desist letters
• with seeking damages for unauthorized use
• with advice and research
• with representation in cases of copyright infringement 
• with infringement of photographic rights

Both emerging and expanding businesses require dependable partners. On the legal front, an experienced IP lawyer from Germany is a valuable, long-term ally. Whether you require help with copyright issues, a trademark lawyer in Germany for registration or if you need help finding the specific IP laws applying to your situation, we will gladly give you a free initial assessment! 

Just fill out our contact form and we will get in touch.