An ad firm helps left-wingers to register trade mark rights for Nazi codes. These may then no longer be used free of charge.
The Hamburg-based association “Laut gegen Nazis” (“Loud against nazis”) has registered relevant Nazi codes as trade marks with the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), meaning that they can only be used as textile prints or stickers if licence fees are paid. The initiative aims to prevent the slogans from spreading and weaken right-wing movements.
In October, the activists had already registered the abbreviation “VTR LND” as a trade mark, which stands in German for “Fatherland”. The most recently registered trade marks include the abbreviation “enness”, which is popular among right-wingers and is intended to pay homage to National Socialism as a phonetic transcription of “NS”. The association has also secured the rights to “AWB”. This refers to the extreme right-wing Boer movement of the same name in South Africa.
If the right-wing merchandise shops refuse to pay licence fees, they face charges, court proceedings and fines. Many right-wing online mail order companies have therefore dutifully taken the devotional items with the imprints offline, a spokesperson for the initiative told “nd”. “Laut gegen Nazis” has sent warning letters to others. Corresponding articles are marketed via the platforms “Deutsches Warenhaus” or “Ansgar Aryan”, for example.
“Laut gegen Nazis” is an organisation run by Jörn Menge, who has made a name for himself in the music industry and also initiates projects and campaigns against right-wing extremism. His attempt to harm Nazis with the help of trade mark law is supported by Philip Schlaffer. He is considered to have left the right-wing extremist scene and has since appeared as a “deradicalisation trainer”.
The idea for the “Laut gegen Nazis” campaign came from the Berlin advertising firm Jung von Matt, which has set up its own website on the subject entitled “Recht gegen rechts” (“Law against the Right”). Also on the initiative of the company, fashion giants such as Zalando, About You and the Spread Group also positioned themselves against the right in April under the motto “Fashion against Fascism”. This includes a database with Nazi codes, which the companies can use to detect corresponding abbreviations in their online shops and then prevent them from being sold.
An entry at the EUIPO in Alicante is first checked by officials, a process that takes around a month. The registration is then published on the EU Trade Mark Office’s website with a three-month objection period. Such trade mark applications are “not a sprint, but a marathon”, says Jörg Menge from “Laut gegen Nazis”. The process costs around €1,600. The organisation is financing the campaign via an appeal for donations on the “Betterplace.org” platform.
Not all of the initiatives’ applications are accepted. For example, the EUIPO refused to register the abbreviation “HKNKRZ” (referring to “Hakenkreuz”, the German word for swastika), citing an “offence against morality and public order”. The code “HTLR” could not be registered as a trade mark either. The known Thuringian neo-Nazi and now also mayoral candidate Tommy Frenck sells this on T-shirts.
Right-wingers also try to harm left-wingers with the help of trade mark law. For example, a current member of the “Values Union” tried to register the slogans “Black Lives Matter” and “Migrantifa” in his name three years ago – but was unsuccessful. According to the EUIPO’s reasoning, the slogans were a “purely (socio-)political statement” which are not possible to have a copyright on.
Published in German in „nd“.
Image: Nazis can continue to print “HTLR” on T-shirts without a licence, but not “enness” and “AWB” (Jung von Matt).
