A trademark is a registered industrial property right with a term limited to 10 years, renewable as often as desired for further periods of 10 years.

Trademark protection can be obtained for marks that are capable of distinguishing goods or services of one place of origin from those of another. A trademark refers directly to the goods or services and only indirectly to the place of origin. Such marks may be, for example, words, slogans, pictures, colours, three-dimensional representations, sounds or even smells. It must be possible to graphically represent the mark, which also applies to sound marks or three-dimensional marks.

Trademarks which consist exclusively of signs or indications which may serve, in trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin, or the time of production of the goods or of rendering of the service, or other characteristics of the goods or service are excluded from registration. Other reasons for refusing to register a trademark include, for example, misleading the public about the nature, quality or geographical origin of the goods or service, or violating the public order or moral standards.

A trademark with effect in Germany can be registered nationally at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office or as a European Union trademark with protective effect for the entire European Union. Trademark protection can also be obtained centrally in a large number of states through an International trademark registration.