The Design department of the German Patent and Trademark Office rejected a design application which illustrated the front and rear side of a 100 € bank note. The GPTO based its decision on the fact that, in accordance with the assessment in trademark law regarding national emblems, national emblems also include legal tenders, which is why the same assessment regarding national emblems in trademark law is also applicable in the design law. Accordingly, an abusive use of a national emblem is assumed when the misleading impression arises that the design has a reference to the governmental bodies or that such bodies have published the design. An intended use of the registered design as an imprint on foil bags can also not be taken into account with this assessment as long as the intended use is not represented in the design itself.
Decision by the Federal Court of Justice dated August 21, 2012 – 10W(pat) 701/09 – Folienbeutelaufdruck
Author: Dipl. Biotechnol. Vanessa Bockhorni (Patent Attorney), Update 2/2013
Patent Attorneys and Lawyers Bockhorni & Kollegen
Munich/ Germany
www.patguard.de
