On EU-level, the revised EU Trade Mark Directive 2015/2436 of 16 December 2015 (EUTMD) and the new EU Trade Mark Regulation (EUTMR) entered into force at the beginning of 2016. After comprehensive preparatory work done by the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection combined with expert support by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (GPTO), the Trade Mark Law Modernisation Act (Markenrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz), and thus the amendment of the Trade Mark Act to implement the EUTMD, entered into force on 14 January 2019 with the goal to harmonize a significant number of optional provisions of the EUTMD into German law.
Read more about Changes regarding the German Trademark Act as of 14 January 2019