On January 29, 1886, Carl Benz registered a patent for a “vehicle powered by a gaseous fuel engine.” Since then, we have refined automobiles with more than 114,000 patent applications and developed numerous pioneering innovations. Our current focus involves the CASE technologies.
Freedom of action and safeguarding brands are the key
Patents are important to the company primarily for two reasons: On the one hand, they secure Mercedes-Benz a certain amount of freedom of action and thus enable us to manufacture and sell our products around the world and avoid legal conflicts with third parties. Patents also enable exclusivity, whereby the goal is to establish exclusive positioning of selected Mercedes-Benz features on the market, thus differentiating ourselves from the competition. In addition to industrial property rights, which safeguard our innovations for future mobility over the long term, the unique visual aspects of our products are protected with over 7,800 registered designs. In addition, our portfolio of more than 35,800 trademark rights worldwide protects the Mercedes-Benz brand, our new EQ brand for electric mobility, and all our other product brands in all relevant markets.
