100th Anniversary of Bavaria (Germany) - A glance at trademarks, start-ups, innovation & events

IT IS TIME TO CELEBRATE !!! 

What inspired me (Alexandra Dellmeier) to write this article? Well, I was born in Bavaria - in the capital city of Munich to be precise - and, I am an intellectual property attorney. Even though I had the opportunity to live in the US for a total of six years and do internships there and in Israel, my "roots" lie in Bavaria. Naturally, I want to write about the 100th anniversary of my "homeland" in combination with start-ups, trademarks and how Bavaria has developed over the past decades. 

Bavaria - in German called the "Freistaat Bayern" (Free State of Bavaria) just turned 100 years old. Officially, Bavaria was founded on 8 November 1918 after the last king was disposed of. Bavaria today is known for its world famous Oktoberfest. However, there is much more to it than beer and pretzels. Did you know that we have our own "Statue of Liberty" which is called "Bavaria" (as seen in the picture below)? It stands on top of the hill at the "Theresienwiese" in Munich, Germany, where the Oktoberfest takes place every year and is a symbol of freedom and peace and also represents strength and glory.

bavaria_100_years_300dpi.jpg

Bavaria has approx. 13 million inhabitants (Germany in total has approx. 83 million) and is one of the largest out of the 16 federal states of which Germany consists of. Over the past 50 years, Bavaria has changed considerably. From the outset, the majority of the income was made through farming and agricultural products. This has changed. Bavaria has meanwhile become "tech land". Most people know that large companies like BMW, Siemens, Airbus, Mercedes, Porsche, Brainlab, Fresenius, Krones AG etc. who are either headquartered or have large manufacturing facilities in Bavaria. However, what makes Bavaria economically and financially strong are the large number of mid-size and family owned businesses - the so-called "Hidden Champions". But also the start-up scene is on the rise. Every year, one of the most outstanding start-up meetings - "Bits & Pretzels" - takes place during the Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. Speakers and participants dress up in traditional Bavarian clothing (Dirndl and Lederhosen) and meet to discuss what start-ups need, how to get venture capital, how to protect intellectual property and more. LexDellmeier IP Law Firm, Munich, Germany, regularly attends this start-up conference and and helps some of the companies set up their trademark, design, copyright and licensing portfolio in Germany, the EU and with the help of associates around the world on an international basis.

As regards trademarks and patents: Bavaria is and has been front runner in the past years. According the the German Patent and Trademark Office (GPTO) and its 2017 Annual Report, 15,482 patent applications were filed in 2017 (32.4% of all German domestic applications). The number of trademarks applied for in Bavaria in 2017 reached 12,518. According to the GPTO and its statistics, the inhabitants of Bavaria were the most creative, filing 97 trademark applications per 100,000.

For more information on trademarks, Bavarian castles (including the trademark battle regarding "Neuschwanstein") see the what the GPTO has to say and write about the 100th Anniversary of the "Freistaat Bayern" (in English) here: 

If you would like to know what events are going on, please look at the the offical website of the State of Bavaria - here on the events page (in German). An English summary of the offical website can be found here.