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Important notice of 17 November 2023

On the occasion of the current situation in Israel and Gaza

The German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) is following with sympathy and concern the current armed conflict, which has been provoked by the brutal attack of the terrorist organisation Hamas on the citizens of Israel. We would like to provide support to the people affected in the region and assure them: The DPMA will take due account of the current situation when conducting IP procedures, insofar as this is possible within the scope of the statutory provisions.

Due to the legal framework in Germany, statutory time limits cannot be extended by the DPMA. However, there is the possibility of reestablishment of rights: Any person who through no fault of his or her own was prevented from observing a statutory time limit may have his or her procedure restored upon request. The request will then be handled as if the time limit had been observed.

The re-establishment of rights allows us to react very flexibly to the difficult and exceptional circumstances of the applicants concerned.

For prerequisites and scope of application of the re-establishment of rights, please refer to the provisions of the respective IP laws. Re-establishment of rights for proceedings

• in patent matters is governed by section 123 of the Patent Act
• in trade mark matters is governed by section 91 of the Trade Mark Act
• in design matters is governed by section 23 (3) sentence 3 of the Design Act in conjunction with section 123 (1) to (5) and (7) of the Patent Act
• in utility model matters is governed by section 21 (1) of the Utility Model Act in conjunction with section 123 of the Patent Act
• in semiconductor protection matters is governed by section 11 (1) of the Semiconductor Protection Act in conjunction with section 123 of the Patent Act

On 12 October, DPMA President Eva Schewior sent a letter of sympathy to the Israel Patent Office on the occasion of the terrorist attack by Hamas.

Last updated: 17 November 2023