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“Prime example of a well-functioning federal system”

DPMA celebrates the 20th anniversary of its Jena Office

Press release of 15 October 2018

Jena. Today, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office has marked the 20th anniversary of its sub-office with a ceremony in Jena. “The Jena office is regarded as a prime example of a well-functioning federal system”, said the Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection, Dr Katarina Barley, at the celebrations at the Volksbad Jena. “It is a successful chapter of German reunification and a real success story”, she added. The Minister also praised the DPMA as the authority for the protection of innovation as a whole. “This office has a very special importance for Germany as a location for industry”, emphasised Dr Katarina Barley.

DPMA President Cornelia Rudloff-Schäffer also praised Jena as an “ideal location” for the DPMA. “The fact that we feel so at home here as an authority for the protection of innovation underscores Jena’s position as an innovative powerhouse in the centre of Germany”, she stated. The President also paid tribute to the staff: “Our excellent staff as well as our local partners have accomplished extraordinary achievements here over the last 20 years.” The speakers at the ceremony also included Thuringia’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Science and the Digital Society Wolfgang Tiefensee, Jena mayor Dr Thomas Nitzsche and Markus Ortlieb, the Head of the DPMA sub-office.

History of the Jena Office

The establishment of the Jena office dates back to a decision by the Commission on Federalism following reunification on 27 May 1992. Until then, the DPMA (then still named German Patent Office) only had one further office outside Munich, which was located in Berlin. The former West Berlin branch had been merged there with the Office for Inventions and Patents of the GDR. Initially, it was intended to move the entire Berlin office to Jena. However, in the end, Berlin also remained a DPMA location.

Today, 229 staff of the DPMA work at the Thuringian location. Parts of the trade mark area, the Design Unit and staff in the areas of budget, IT and administration work there. The sub-office examines around 40% of the total amount of German trade mark applications (around 27,000 applications per year) and conducts what are known as post-registration procedures for all trade mark rights, also those examined in Munich. This means that all renewal procedures, cancellation proceedings and procedures for changes in the Register of the approximately 805,000 trade mark rights in force at the DPMA are handled in Jena. The Jena office is solely responsible for IP rights in designs. Almost 326,000 designs in force are currently being administered in roughly 57,000 case files. Last year 44,297 individual designs were newly applied for at the DPMA.

Exhibition on the occasion of 20th anniversary

On occasion of its 20th anniversary, the DPMA’s Jena office is hosting an exhibition at the Goethe Galerie in Jena until 20 October. Its focus is on companies with a particularly long tradition as trade mark owners, especially those from central and eastern Germany, which have successfully held their ground in the market even after reunification.

The German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA)

Inventiveness and creativity need effective protection. The DPMA is the German centre of expertise for all intellectual property rights – for patents, utility models, trade marks and registered designs. As the largest national patent office in Europe and the fifth largest national patent office in the world, our office stands for the future of Germany as a country of inventors in a globalised economy. Its staff of over 2,600 at three locations – Munich, Jena and Berlin – provide services for inventors and companies. They implement federal innovation strategies and develop the national, European and international protection systems further.

Pitcure: Jürgen Scheere

Last updated: 19 December 2024