Intellectual property protection in Germany
Germany general info
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of 16 states. Its capital and the largest city is Berlin. Germany is situated in Western and Central Europe, with Denmark bordering to the North, Poland and the Czech Republic to the East, Austria to the Southeast and Switzerland to the Southwest, France, Luxembourg and Belgium to the West, and the Netherlands to the Northwest. Germany is the most populous country in the European Union and ranks as the 16th most populous country in the world.
IP Legal Base in Germany
Patent Act
Patent Ordinance
Utility Model Act
Utility Model Ordinance
Trade Mark Act
Trade Mark Ordinance
Design Act
Design Ordinance
Plant Variety Protection Act
Act on the Protection of the Topographies of Microelectronic Semiconductor Products
Act on Employees' Inventions
Act on Copyright and Related Rights
Act on the Management of Copyright and Related Rights by Collecting Societies
International organizations/agreements
Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks
WIPO Copyright Treaty
WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty
Trademark Law Treaty
Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs
Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure
Brussels Convention Relating to the Distribution of Programme-Carrying Signals Transmitted by Satellite
Patent Cooperation Treaty
Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification
Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms
Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization
Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations
Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks
Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs
Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or Deceptive Indications of Source on Goods
Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
Patent Office Contact Details
Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt
80297 München
Phone: +49 89 2195-1000
Fax: +49 89 2195-2221/ +49 89 2195-4000
Email: info@dpma.de
www.dpma.de
IP registration costs
Fees associated with registration of IP rights in Germany are available in the fee calculator.
✓ Last verified: 10 March 2026 by PATENTSHIP PATENTANWALTSGESELLSCHAFT MBH.
Please contact us if the above information is not in conformity with German IP Laws