Intellectual property (IP) is the most valuable asset for most startups. The term ‘IP’ covers, amongst other things, trademarks, designs and technological innovations. All of these are subject to intellectual property rights, which founders must take into account and exercise.
Stories
August 12, 2026
IP and trade mark protection for startups – here’s how!
This map shows the most important topics of IP protection. © Katharina Keienburg
Trademark protection is a priority for all startups
The question of when startup founders should start addressing the issue of intellectual property rights is easy to answer: as early as possible. And protecting the trademark should be right at the top of the list. Trademarks include names, logos and other distinctive signs – such as melodies or colours – for products or services. Registration in a trademark register can be completed relatively easily online. In Germany, the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) is responsible, whilst the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) handles registration across the entire EU.
However, neither body assesses whether a trademark can actually be protected, or whether there are any conflicts of interest. Only terms that are too general in nature are rejected. For example, a computer manufacturer cannot name its trademark ‘Computer’, because this term covers the entire product category. Nevertheless, the name ‘Apple’ has evidently caused no problems, even though, strictly speaking, it also refers to a specific product – namely, the apple. But computers and apples belong to entirely different categories, which is why there was no likelihood of confusion.
For this reason, the same term can be used for different trademarks. ‘Duplo’ is the name of both a chocolate bar and LEGO building bricks. Trademark protection can be applied for in so-called Nice Classes, named after the city in southern France, where an agreement on the classification of trademarks was adopted as early as 1957. There are currently 34 classes of goods and 11 classes of services. When conducting a search, it is therefore important to first check whether a trademark is already protected in a class in which a new startup wishes to operate.
The team of IPC. © Kati Jurischka
The Chamber of Commerce’s Innovation and Patent Centre provides assistance with IP matters
There are a number of points of contact for carrying out searches, both online and in person. In Hamburg, the Chamber of Commerce, with its Innovation and Patent Centre (IPC), is the go-to organisation for this. You can initially obtain information there free of charge, either by telephone or by arranging a face-to-face meeting. The fee-based service then includes the following:
Similarity searches for word and figurative marks
Searches in national and international registers
Applicant and proprietor searches
Status searches
It is also possible to carry out your own search at the IPC, with access to a range of databases.
Following a thorough search, the trademark registration can then be completed. The basic fee at the DPMA is 290 euros for up to three Nice classes, and at the EUIPO it is 850 euros for one Nice class. Additional costs apply for each further class. Trademark protection is initially valid for ten years and can be renewed for a fee.
Whilst trademark protection is of great importance to startups across all sectors, design protection applies only to certain industries, which is why it will not be covered in such detail here. The first step is, once again, thorough research, for which the IPC can also be of assistance. Designs eligible for protection relate to the external appearance of a product, such as its shape, pattern or ornamentation. This covers physical products of all kinds, including fabrics, wallpaper and clothing. Packaging designs also fall into this category. To be officially registered, designs must be novel and clearly distinguishable from existing ones. Design protection is also registered with the DPMA and is valid for a maximum of 25 years.
In 1474, the first modern patent law was enacted in Venice, the basic principles of which still apply today. It included the protection of personal intellectual property rights in an invention, the right to exclude others from using it, and a time limit. Patent protection can be obtained for all novel physical products and manufacturing processes that meet the following criteria:
Novelty – This does not refer solely to the degree of innovation of the invention. Furthermore, the invention must not be disclosed publicly prior to filing a patent application, for example on social media.
Inventive step – This refers to achievements that go beyond the scope of what constitutes average knowledge in the relevant technical field.
Industrial applicability – An invention does not exist solely in scientific theory, but can, at least in the long term, be commercially utilised in practice.
A patent application process is significantly more complicated and time-consuming than registering a trademark. It is therefore strongly recommended that you seek professional advice in this area. This applies in particular to the research and the drafting of the patent application. This is usually handled by specialist patent attorneys who specialise not only in patent law but also in specific industries. When drafting the application, one should adopt a flexible approach to ensure that so-called ‘workarounds’ are also covered. It is advisable to regularly check that your products remain within the scope of protection of the registered patents and, where necessary, to file new patent applications in the event of product changes. It can take two to three years for a patent to be granted, and it is then valid for up to 20 years from the filing date.
Anyone wishing to expedite the decision-making process can register their invention relating to a product as a utility model; this is not possible for processes. However, this ‘small patent’ is not subject to a substantive examination, so it is particularly important to carry out a thorough search beforehand. Registration therefore usually takes place within a few weeks and is valid for a maximum of ten years. There is a six-month grace period for novelty, which means that, unlike with a patent, an invention may be disclosed before the application is filed. In both cases, the DPMA is the point of contact.
Dr Hanna Blaschke © Ulrich Perrey
4 Questions for Dr Hanna Blaschke from the IPC
One of the contacts at the IPC of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce is Dr Hanna Blaschke, a biologist with a PhD and a IP expert. In this interview, she answered some frequently asked questions about IP protection.
Why should startups sort out their IP protection as early as possible?
There are a number of good reasons for this! For example, carrying out a trademark search protects you from unpleasant surprises if a trademark has already been registered. After all, if you receive an official letter of warning from another company regarding trademark infringement, it becomes very expensive straight away. Not only will you then have to pay a warning fee in the four-figure range. Switching to a new name or logo incurs further costs, especially if significant parts of your marketing are geared towards it. In that case, your entire communication strategy has to be realigned, you’re practically starting from scratch again.
A patent, on the other hand, is not only essential for protecting against plagiarism. It also significantly strengthens your position in negotiations with investors, as it signals a high degree of innovation and, through the protection it affords, offers a unique selling point.
Intellectual property rights can be applied for either in Germany only or internationally. What needs to be borne in mind here?
It depends, first and foremost, on whether a startup prioritises international expansion from the outset or wishes to focus on the German market initially. When it comes to trademark protection, the time and financial outlay is still manageable, at least for an EU-wide application. The situation is different for patents; here, costs can very quickly reach five-figure sums, which many early-stage startups cannot afford. Fortunately, the German market is large enough to establish a sound economic position, and a German patent ensures, in any case, that no foreign competitor can market a copy of my invention here.
Speaking of ‘my invention’: many innovations do not originate in a hobby room or garage, but at universities or within companies. What do I need to bear in mind if I want to set up my own business based on this?
For company employees, the Employee Inventions Act applies. In the case of an invention created within the context of an employment relationship, the rights will generally remain with the company, and the inventor will receive remuneration. It is therefore unlikely that this could lead to the creation of an independent startup.
In the case of inventions developed at universities, for example, as part of research projects, a spin-off is usually supported by the university itself. There are relevant funding programmes and institutions for such technology transfer projects that can provide assistance.
What options are there for protecting computer software?
Whilst software as such is not patentable, the source code of the software is automatically protected by copyright if it constitutes a personal intellectual creation. In certain circumstances, new processes controlled by software may also be eligible for patenting, such as manufacturing processes. The key term here is: computer-implemented inventions.
Incidentally, source code written by an AI is not eligible for protection, as it does not constitute a personal creation.
