Monday IPDate March 23, 2026

DPMA annual figures for 2025: considerable increase in inventions

In 2025, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) saw far more applications for patents, trademarks and utility models than in the previous year. The number of patent applications rose by 4.7% to 62,050, that of trade mark applications even increased by 19.8% to 96,328; utility model applications climbed by 19.3% to 11,427. The number of design applications was up 5.9% to 4,183. The DPMA was once again very efficient and increased the number of concluded registration and examination procedures in almost all areas, even achieving a double-digit increase in the trade mark and utility model areas.

> DPMA annual figures for 2025: considerable increase in inventions

Trademark classification goes agentic with USPTO’s announcement of “Class ACT” assistant

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), announced the release of a first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence (AI) agent that handles some of the most time-consuming elements of trademark application pre-processing. The new Trademark Classification Agentic Codification Tool, or “Class ACT,” can immediately assign international classes to unclassified applications, as well as the design search codes and pseudo marks that make these records searchable. This speed will enhance searches performed by examining attorneys and practitioners like never before.

> Trademark classification goes agentic with USPTO’s announcement of “Class ACT” assistant