In recent years, far-right merchandise has become an important source of income for some right-wing extremist groups and individuals in Germany. Online stores sell clothing, accessories and other products that use symbols members of the far-right scene recognize.

Because many openly Nazi symbols are illegal in Germany, sellers have increasingly relied on coded language to get around the law. Hitlerhas become HTLR, while Hakenkreuz (swastika) is abbreviated to HKNKRZ.

But the campaign "Recht Gegen Rechts" (Rights Against the Right) has found a clever way to combat this legal workaround. They take control of Nazi-related symbols, coded extremist phrases and the names of far-right businesses by registering them as trademarks at the European trademark office.

The campaign was launched in 2021 by German creative agency Jung von Matt, together with Hamburg-based nonprofit Laut Gegen Nazis (Noise against Nazis). 

If extremist retailers continue to sell products bearing the newly protected names or phrases without permission, they could face legal action for infringement — including paying compensation for each item sold.

How registered trademarks stopped far-right merchandise

"These online shops are not in the darknet; they're existing there online. You have just to find the right URLs," explained Simon Knittel of Jung von Matt.

However, for those outside of the far-right scene, the stores aren't easy to find. The team had help from Joern Menge, the founder of Noise against Nazis (Laut Gegen Nazis), as well as Philip Schlaffer, a former neo-Nazi and online shop owner, who is now a speaker and activist against far-right extremism.

"Basically, you can find these shops if you know what keywords to enter. A lot of them are now based overseas," Schlaffer told DW. "It's become a global business where a lot of money is changing hands."

The team identified more than 35 online stores with over 1,000 articles in each shop and then determined which trademarks would be most effective. For Schlaffer, the campaign's approach is both creative and effective.

"Neo-Nazis shouldn't feel like they have a safe haven; they should be afraid that the ideas they have — the ones they're selling — might be taken away from them and that the products will need to be taken offline. That takes away their sense of security," he said.

Indeed, the team saw this in action after the first trademark was secured.

"When we published our initial press release announcing that we had registered a trademark, it only took about 30 minutes, and the trademark was taken down by all the online shops. We didn't have to do anything," explained Knittel. "They did it voluntarily because they knew that we really had something against them and didn't want to be on the losing side of a court case."

Each subsequent trademark was met with the same response: items were quickly taken offline.

"In the end, we had to wait just 10 minutes, not 30. That was the proof for us that we found something that really solves the problem," said Knittel.

Germany's strict approach to Nazi symbols

Germany's approach to Nazi imagery reflects the country's history and its efforts to prevent the revival of National Socialism. Under Section 86a of the German Criminal Code, displaying or distributing symbols of unconstitutional organizations is generally prohibited. This includes symbols associated with the Nazi Party, such as the swastika, SS symbols and the Nazi salute, except in educational contexts or for research and historical documentation.

Violations can result in fines or even imprisonment. Germany has one of the strictest approaches to extremist symbolism anywhere in the world.

Turning racist codes into anti-fascist merch

Rights Against the Right has also taken the process a step further by turning the neo-Nazi slogans into snarky anti-Nazi merchandise. 

The campaign secured the trademark and the web domain of Druck18, a major online seller of neo-Nazi merchandise run by far-right extremist Tommy Frenck.

The shop sold products featuring extremist and xenophobic messages, including items designed to appeal to Nazi nostalgia. Recht Gegen Rechts replaced it with their own online shop, which sells anti-Nazi and anti-racist merchandise.

In the new Druck 18 online shop, you can buy a sweatshirt with the words HKN KRZ, the shorthand for swastika in German, that features the words crossed off and the text: "Thank you trademark law: We've registered this Nazi code as a trademark so Nazis can't spread it."

New trademarks are legally required be used commercially within five years, so the team had to get creative. "We had to find a way to make [these Nazi codes] commercially available without contributing to any Nazi scandal or anything like that. So, we turned them upside down and had them written on the shirts," said Knittel.

Challenges with registering trademarks

The campaign has secured six trademarks and is in the process of securing more.

"It's quite complicated — it takes up to six months to have one trademark registered and costs €1,600 ($1,823) — and you never know if you will actually get it registered," said Knittel. The campaign relies completely on donations to fund its operations. Jung von Matt works entirely pro bono.

Harassment in the form of hate mail, emails has been commonplace, and the campaign is currently looking for name donors, as each trademark needs to be registered under an individual's name.

The campaign is also involved in a lawsuit with Tommy Frenck, the owner of the original Druck 18. He sought a court order to stop them from using the shop's name but lost in both the first instance and on appeal.

And some of the codes used by Neo-Nazis can't be protected by trademark law in the first place. "So, there are still codes out there that we can't protect against," explained Knittel. "But in the end, the goal was to create awareness that these codes exists," in both the public and political spheres.

And that is something Rights Against the Right has certainly done — one trademark at a time.

Edited by: Elizabeth Grenier