{"id":3248,"date":"2026-09-28T13:18:36","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T11:18:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/your-situation\/company-name-and-trademark\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T13:18:36","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T11:18:36","slug":"company-name-and-trademark","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/your-situation\/company-name-and-trademark\/","title":{"rendered":"Company name conflicts with a trademark"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">Your company name, a product name or a domain resembles someone else\u2019s trademark; or another company has filed a name that you have been using for some time. Often a letter from the other side or a notice from the trademark office comes with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:1.5rem\">What matters now<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Whoever was first often holds the better cards: not only registered trademarks, but also company names and titles used for some time are protected.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>There are opposition periods against new trademark filings: three months at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office and three months from publication at the European Union Intellectual Property Office.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Whether names are likely to be confused depends on sound, appearance, meaning and the goods and services. A search clarifies the situation.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>A coexistence agreement is often cheaper and faster than a dispute.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Before renaming, weigh costs and effort against the prospects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:1.5rem\">Documents I need<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>evidence of since when and where you have used the name (commercial register, invoices, advertising, domain)<\/li>\n\n\n<li>your own trademark registrations<\/li>\n\n\n<li>the letter from the other side or the notice from the office<\/li>\n\n\n<li>the goods and services for which the name matters<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:1.5rem\">Next steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">Send me the documents by email to <a href=\"mailto:kanzlei@bauer.legal\">kanzlei@bauer.legal<\/a> or use the <a href=\"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/submit-appointment-request\/\">appointment request<\/a>, and mention any deadline that is running. I usually reply within one working day and let you know how things can proceed. You can write to me in English or German. If the deadline is close, it is best to call: <a href=\"tel:+4933365784007\">+49 33365 784007<\/a>. How we work together and how fees are charged is explained under <a href=\"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/how-we-work-together\/\">How we work together<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">More: <a href=\"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/intellectual-property\/\">Intellectual property<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"bl-stand wp-block-paragraph\">This page gives a general overview of German law and does not replace advice on the individual case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your company name, a product name or a domain resembles someone else\u2019s trademark; or another company has filed a name that you have been using for some time. Often a letter from the other side or a notice from the trademark office comes with it. What matters now Documents I need Next steps Send me&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/your-situation\/company-name-and-trademark\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Company name conflicts with a trademark<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3224,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":"","_genesis_title":"Company or product name conflicts with a trademark","_genesis_description":"Your company or product name resembles someone else\u2019s trademark, or someone files your name as a trademark? What matters now.","_tsf_title_no_blogname":0,"_genesis_noindex":0},"class_list":["post-3248","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3248\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bauer.legal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}