Content

Important notice of 11 February 2026

Increase of trade mark applications made in bad faith

Since mid-2025, there has been an increase in trade mark applications where several aspects raise doubts about the applicants' good faith. It seems that these applicants do not intend to use the trade mark according to its purpose, that is to indicate their commercial ownership. Instead, they misuse it as a means of competition: one example is applying for trade marks that third parties are already making successful use of, but for which they don’t have registered trade mark protection - with the intention of putting them under pressure.

In the event of suspicious cases, the DPMA examines trade mark applications regarding possible bad faith of the applicants as indicated in section 8 (2) no. 14 of the Trade Mark Act.

The increase in trade marks applied for in bad faith seems to be mainly due to the following factors:

• The use of AI applications makes it easy to find trade marks that are used without registered trade mark protection.
• The potential for putting pressure on market participants who don’t enjoy registered trade mark protection has increased significantly due to the functionalities of some online sales platforms, as those offer registered trade mark proprietors highly efficient blocking mechanisms. The proprietor of a registered trade mark can register the trade mark on the online sales platform and immediately have third parties (even authorized ones) automatically excluded from the use of the trade mark. By the time third parties are able to defend themselves against this, appealing time windows for sales offers will long since have closed.

Before the DPMA rejects a trade mark application owing to bad faith, the applicant is given the opportunity to comment on it. Legitimate applicants can use their comments to refute the allegation of bad faith by providing relevant arguments and evidence of their genuine intentions.

Trade mark proprietors without a registered trade mark should consider applying for a registered trade mark and/or thoroughly check DPMAregister for applications/entries of their trade marks by third parties. Where appropriate, they can also monitor all actions via DPMAkurier. You are welcome to send notices concerning activities of applicants acting in bad faith as "Note by third parties" to the DPMA. Please make sure to indicate the relevant file number.

Maintaining an effective trade mark system that benefits the honest parties is a shared duty of all market participants. The DPMA, as the federal centre of expertise for all intellectual property rights in Germany, is also taking this task very seriously within the scope of its statutory mandate.

Last updated: 12 February 2026