2. Qualification of the applicant-German law stipulates that anyone who wants to distinguish his goods or services from those of others in business activities can apply to the German Patent Office for trademark registration. The federal law also stipulates that an applicant who does not have a business office in Germany can apply for trademark protection in Germany only if he accepts German trademarks or services in the country where he has a business office and treats them equally with his own trademarks.
3. Formal review-After applying for German registration, the German Patent and Trademark Office will review the legality of the submitted application documents, trademark patterns, power of attorney and other documents, indicating that the application date and application number will be given in accordance with the provisions of the German trademark law, and the payment notice will be given at the same time.
4. substantive examination-according to the german trademark law, examine whether the applied trademark can be registered, whether it is the same as or similar to the previously registered trademark, and whether it violates the prohibition clause of the trademark law. For trademarks that fail the substantive examination, the examiner will notify the applicant in writing and inform the reasons for rejection. The applicant can submit the examination opinions within the time limit from the date of receiving the notice of rejection, otherwise the application will be regarded as abandoned, and the application date and application number will not be retained.
5. Trademark announcement-After examination, the examiner thinks that the trademark application is acceptable, and he will make an announcement in the official German trademark announcement. The objection period is 3 months from the date of announcement, during which anyone can raise any objection to the trademark and give the reasons for the objection.
6. Registration approval-a trademark that can be registered after an objection ruling, or a trademark that has been announced without objection, shall be registered and a registration certificate shall be issued. The whole application process is smooth (if there are no rejections, objections, etc.). It takes about 6-8 months.