Why this matters
A good name and a strong logo can quickly feel like they belong to you. But without trademark protection, you may later be forced to rename, redesign, or abandon an expansion.
Turn knowledge into a start plan
This guide explains one topic. Whether it is really a priority for you right now depends on your answers in the start plan.
Create start planWhat a Trademark Protects — and What It Doesn't
A trademark protects a sign for specific goods and services. That sign can be a word, a logo, or a combination of both. Protection depends not only on the name itself, but also on which classes and services you register it for.
A domain, an Instagram handle, or a nice logo do not automatically constitute trademark protection. Conversely, a trademark is not a free pass for every industry — it is tied to a specific territory and to particular classes of goods or services.
Germany via the DPMA
You register a German trademark with the Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt (DPMA), Germany's national patent and trademark office. The electronic filing currently costs 290 euros and covers up to three classes of goods or services.
This can make sense if your side business in Germany is primarily active domestically, you want to keep costs low, or you want to secure your most important trademark in your home market first.
The protection period for national trademarks is generally ten years and can be renewed.
EU Trademark via the EUIPO
You register an EU trademark with the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office). The basic online filing fee is 850 euros for one class; the second class costs an additional 50 euros, and from the third class onwards each additional class costs 150 euros.
An EU trademark can make sense if you realistically sell in multiple EU countries, want to build a Europe-wide brand, or your business risk is not limited to Germany alone.
However, it is more expensive and can be strategically more complex. If relevant prior rights exist in any EU member state, that can complicate the registration process.
When You Should Seriously Consider It
A trademark becomes especially relevant when you sell products under your own name, design packaging, plan merchandise, build a social media following, or want to create a long-term brand rather than just a small project.
Important: the DPMA does not check during the application process whether identical or similar older trademarks already exist. Prior rights can later lead to an opposition, a conflict, or in the worst case the cancellation of your trademark.
If you are still testing and the name does not matter much yet, waiting can be reasonable. But if your name, logo, and positioning are at the core of your business, checking early is usually smarter than fixing problems later.
Quick checklist
- Is your name truly central to your business model?
- Are you selling products, digital offerings, services, or content under this name?
- Have you searched in advance for identical or similar existing trademarks?
- Do you know which classes of goods and services are relevant to you?
- Is Germany sufficient, or do you realistically plan to operate across the EU?
- Have you budgeted for the filing fee, a trademark search, and possible professional advice?
Common mistakes
- Securing a domain and assuming that means the trademark is protected.
- Wanting to protect only the logo, when the name is actually more important.
- Choosing the wrong or too narrow classes, and realising later that the protection does not fit.
- Not searching for identical or similar prior trademarks before filing, even though the office does not automatically check for such conflicts on your behalf.
- Filing EU-wide when Germany as a first territory would make more economic sense.
What this guide can and cannot do
This guide helps with
- explain which strategic questions matter before filing a trademark
- give you a rough overview of Germany, the EU, and the logic of trademark classes
- help you create a checklist covering name, logo, domain, and usage
This guide does not replace
- replace a binding trademark search
- guarantee that your trademark is registrable
- replace legal trademark advice or an official examination