Trademarking a company name in Germany

Hi there,

does anyone know how I should go about patenting a company name and how much it would cost for
Germany? Actually I would also like to know how much it would cost for Europe.

Also, do I have to patent the logo separately?

thanks

You could ring the European Patent Office?

Arn't Company Names a Trademark, not patent?


- Link (Atleast in the US)

You can't Patent a company name. But, you may be able to Trademark it. Ask a Patent Attorney.

I believe this has nothing to do with patents. The names of companies are governed by "Namensrecht" (in Germany), but don't ask me how the technicalities work in practice...

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namensrecht

I haven't called them yet but would like to get some info before I do and might sound completely clueless about this, which I am . So any info would be greatly appreciated

Patents are used to protect ideas and inventions, copyright protects works like writing or drawing, and trade marks protect names. There's a wealth of information over on Wikipedia; some starting points would be:

Comparison with patents, designs and copyright
Trade mark law of the European Union

TMs in the EU are apparently handled by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM)

The EPO is a good place to start and when I looked at this, I was given a rough cost of around €300 to protect a name with a logo.
MT

Kimf, OHIM is the place to go regarding a Community Trademark (CTM), which covers all member states; 27 now I think. Before attempting to register or use your trademark, you should search the national and OHIM registers to ensure that you aren't infringing on any prior trademarks. Upon applying for a trademark, there are a number of things that could happen; the trademark office can object to the application if the trademark is not distinctive or descritptive of the goods/services; prior trademark holders can also object based on the similarity of the two marks; or nothing happens and you get your registration, no problem. Even if you don't register your trademark and you go ahead and use it, you could still be infringing on a prior trademark, a potential source of litigation. I could go on and on, but it would bore everyone to tears. PM me if you require further details/explanation. Also, here's the link to the German Patent and Trademark Office. http://www.dpma.de/index.htm

I own a number of trademarks. You can protect a text, name or graphic or any combination. The work is normally done by trademark specialist or lawyer who first performs extensive research to see if an identical or even similar mark already exists. You then pre-register your mark either nationally, or internationally (specifying countries or groups of countries). Following pre-registration you may get into disputes with other companies who believe you are infringing their own mark in some way. There are companies out there dedicated to monitoring pre-registration, then surveying the wider market and alerting other companies or individuals to potential infringement to encourage dispute (which of course they then manage). Disputes can be costly and time consuming, so it's best that the initial research is thorough to avoid them in the first place. One disputes are resolved (or none arise) the mark is formalised, usually for a fixed period, typically 5 or 10 years after which you can renew it reasonably painlessly.

Typical cost of a text/graphic mark protection is 3000-5000 Euros including all research, legal costs and registration formalities.

Once you have a mark you should check regularly to see if anyone may be illegally using it, or something similar - that can turn into a lucrative business

YL6

Can a person own a trademark or just a company?

A person can own a trademark, but you have to actually use it. They seem to be clamping down on people making money by tying up trademarks for profit. Having to deal with this myself right now as I want to trademark a company name.

Any legal entity can own a trademark - that includes individuals, companies or partnerships. It's common (in Germany) for a private individual to register and own a mark and license it's use to a company. This is a way, for example, for a company officer (e.g. director or partner) to legally take money out of a company and reduces potential corporation tax on the company. It also protects the mark should the company go bankrupt or be taken over, and thereby retains (or maximises) it's value should it later be sold.