Design applications with DPMA (German designs)

Fast registration of German designs by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA)

German designs are usually registered relatively quickly compared to designs in other countries. The German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) usually registers an applied design in their design register within 2 to 4 weeks after filing the design application. From the date of registration, your design is protected for at least 5 years. You can have this 5-year design protection extended four times (maximum protection period of the design: 25 years).

Our guarantee: We will register your design with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office within 24 hours after we have received the fees for the design application

We want to avoid delays in the registration of your designs in any case. We therefore expressly guarantee our clients that we will always file the design application within 24 hours after receipt of the application fees in our account. The design application is filed by a lawyer who also files it personally with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA). This guarantees an error-free and expeditious application in accordance with the standards of the DPMA.

We always file design applications for our clients electronically with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) using DPMAdirektPro

In order to file your designs particularly quickly, we file all design applications for our clients electronically with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA). As attorneys-at-law, we have acquired a qualified signature card for this purpose, which enables us to effectively sign design applications electronically. In addition, we pay the design application fees to the DPMA directly during the filing process so that the DPMA can immediately start examining and registering our design application to your benefit.

Appeal to the German Federal Patent Court (BPatG) for registration of the design

If, contrary to expectations, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) does not want to register your design, although the requirements for the registrability of your design are met, we will be pleased to file an appeal against the incorrect refusal of the DPMA on your behalf before the German Federal Patent Court (BPatG) in Munich for registration of your design. In this way, we have been able to correct incorrect decisions of the DPMA in court several times in the past and register the designs of our clients contrary to the original will of the DPMA.

Design certificates for registered designs

After registration of your German design, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) sends the design certificate to our office by post in paper form. If you wish, we can send you the design certificate by post or by DHL Express. We will also be happy to store the design certificate for you in our archives at our office. If there is a dispute about your registered design at a later date, the design certificate will provide full proof in court that you are the owner of the registered design.

Invalidity proceedings before the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA)

Your registered design is valid in your favor as long as it is registered. The DPMA will not cancel your design if it is not challenged by anyone. However, third parties can start invalidity proceedings against your registered design before the DPMA at any time. If you do not oppose the invalidity request of the applicant within one month, the invalidity of your design will be determined or declared by the DPMA and your registered design will be deleted from the register by the DPMA. We will be pleased to represent you in invalidity proceedings before the DPMA in order to maintain the validity and the registration of your German design.