Description of Goods Act
| Basic data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Law for the protection of product names |
| Short title: | Goods designation law (not official) |
| Previous title: | Law for the protection of the names of goods |
| Abbreviation: | WBG |
| Type: | Imperial Law |
| Scope: |
German Empire , Federal Republic of Germany |
| Legal matter: | Commercial legal protection , trademark law |
| Original version from: | May 12, 1894 ( RGBl. P. 441) |
| Entry into force on: | October 1, 1894 |
| New announcement from: | December 7, 1923 (RGBl. II p. 437, 445 ff.) |
| Expiry: | December 31, 1968 (Section 3 G of December 28, 1968, Federal Law Gazette I p. 1451 , in conjunction with Sections 1–3 G of July 10, 1958, Federal Law Gazette I p. 437 ) |
| Please note the note on the applicable legal version. | |
The German Product Designation Act (WBG), officially: Law for the Protection of Product Designations , of May 12, 1894 (RGBl. P. 441) was the first law to also protect so-called word marks and equipment.
After its entry into force, there were many lawsuits over trademarks that consisted only of a word mark. Based on the description of goods Law of Protection of based trademarks and equipment up to the entry into force of the Trademark Law (CI) on 1 October 1936. In fact, were the basic provisions of the WBG but until the entry into force of the Trade Marks Act on 1 January 1995 on, since the law the WZG wanted to change the existing legal status as little as possible.
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The law on trademark protection of November 30, 1874 (RGBl. P. 143) came into force on May 1, 1875 and for the first time granted protection to “figurative product names” (figurative marks). However, word marks that did not consist of a company or a name were not protected. It was not possible to use a protected trademark in business transactions, everyone could actually use it.
In 1894, the law on trademark protection was replaced by the law on the protection of product names . The new law adhered to the registration principle. However, protection of equipment (of well-known symbols that were used in business transactions) based on competition law was also recognized. However, the rights to these symbols were only protected by a criminal law if they were used for the purpose of deception. In addition, pure word marks were also eligible for protection in the new law, which has not existed before.
In order to protect the trademarks, the newly established Reich Patent Office created a uniform symbol role as a Reich trademark register for the entire area of the German Reich.
Individual evidence
- ↑ after old orthography even with two a written
- ↑ See the justification for the draft law amending the laws on industrial property protection of April 25, 1929, Reichstag printed matter 4/987 (1928), p. 10 and 21
