Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt

The German Patent and Trade Mark Office is the German national patent office, with headquarters in Munich, and offices in Berlin and Jena. In 2006 it employed 2556 people, of which about 700 were patent examiners.Function and statusThe DPMA is the central authority in the field of intellectual property protection in Germany. Its responsibilities include the granting of patents for the registration of industrial designs, trademarks and designs, as well as for informing the public about existing industrial property rights. Recognised partner of the DPMA is the Patentinformationszentrum (Patent Information Centre), united in the Deutscher Patentinformationszentren e.V (German Patent Information Centres Association).The legal basis of the German Patent and Trademark Office is § 26 of the Patentgesetz (German Patents Act).HistoryThe first unified Patentgesetz was adopted on 25 May 1877, which mandated the establishment of an authority tasked with reviewing and awarding patents. On this basis, on 1 July 1877, the Kaiserliche Patentamt was founded in Berlin.The Chairman of the newly established office was Karl Rudolf Jacobi. On 2 July 1877 was the first German patent was granted on 1 July 1877 for a "method for producing a red ultramarine colour", invented by Johannes Zeltner. The first trademark registration was on 16 October 1894 for a Berlin lamp producer.