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German activists target neo-Nazis with trademark law

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Dagmar Schönowsky | Sarah Hucal
August 17, 2026

Neo-Nazi clothing is a growing business. But activists in Germany are fighting back. By trademarking extremist symbols and brands, they're forcing online shops to remove products, disrupting a key source of revenue.

A former neo-Nazi and a group of anti-extremism activists in Germany have found an unusual way to disrupt the far right: trademark law. By taking control of brands and coded symbols used to market extremist merchandise, they're targeting a business worth millions and forcing sellers to take products offline. It's a small but inventive act of resistance, one that raises a bigger question: what happens when the fight against extremism shifts from the streets to the marketplace?

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