Manfred Jansen visited East Germany a couple of times during the 1970s, but that's about as far as his relationship with the now defunct country goes.

That's why it wasn't for nostalgic but rather clear-cut business interests that the 52-year-old went to the German patent office in Munich a few years ago to register the German Democratic Republic's insignia. "I was the first one to think about it," he told reporters. "And the one who gets up earliest, catches the fattest fish."

For €300 ($356), he got the rights to market East Germany's official emblem -- a hammer and compass surrounded by a wreath of rye -- as well as a host of other official insignia. T-shirts, ash trays, lighters, ties and other items are all emblazoned with them. While he doesn't produce such things himself, he's banking on the flood of items others are trying to sell.

Jansen was able to acquire the GDR's remnants because it now longer exists as a country, according to a patent office spokeswoman. "Only a defunct state can become a trademark," the spokeswoman said, adding that Jansen's copyrights could be reconsidered should someone else file a protest with the office.

That might happen sooner than later as the savvy businessman seems to have angered some eastern Germans.

"It's absurd that a Westerner gets other Westerners (at the patent office) to certify his rights to the symbol of the East German youth organization," Matthias Oehme, who represents the estate of Heinz Behling -- the graphic artist believed to have created the official East German emblem -- told Neues Deutschland newspaper. It still remains unclear whether wearing clothing with the symbol is considered illegal in the western German states.