Foreign Trademark Domestically Protected

CK - Washington.   Despite the fact that an unregistered trademark is used in Germany, a conflicting mark may be registered with the Patent and Trademark Office in Munich. Nonetheless, such a common law domestic trademark may enjoy some protection. Recently, the office extended such protection to a foreign trademark. The federal supreme court for patent and trademark matters ruled in the matter 26 W (pat) 32/08 on May 22, 2009 in favor of a Turkish mark whose owner had entered into business negotiations with a prospective German importer. When negotiations broke down, the importer registered the mark in Germany. Later, the Turkish company sou…