Content

Federal Minister as a welcome guest at the DPMA

Visit of Dr Katarina Barley to the German Patent and Trade Mark Office in Munich

On her first visit to the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) in Munich on 25 May 2018, Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection Dr Katarina Barley praised the work of the office and its pioneering role in the field of e-government. During the several hours of visit, Dr Katarina Barley took a look at the work of the DPMA, which comes under the remit of the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection.

The Federal Minister was cordially welcomed by DPMA President Rudloff-Schäffer. She stated that she was very much looking forward to working with Dr Barley and was convinced that the protection of innovations for which the DPMA stands would play a central role for the work of the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection. In the DPMAforum, the Minister met Vice-President Moosbauer and the Directors General, Staff Council members as well as the Equal Opportunities Officer and the General Representative of Severely Disabled Persons to exchange information. Afterwards, two patent examiners presented to her how they conduct searches and examinations at the fully electronic workstation. Patent and utility model applications have been processed at the DPMA exclusively in electronic files since 2011 and trade mark applications since 2015.

Dr Barley was very appreciative: The DPMA was a model office – both in view of the female management leadership and because of its outstanding IP services and the high level of digitisation, she said. In Germany, but also far beyond the borders of Europe, the federal office enjoyed an excellent reputation, she added.

Picture: DPMA - Cornelia Rudloff-Schäffer (left), Katarina Barley (right)

Last updated: 26 May 2023