(1) Any person who has neither their residence nor principal place of business nor an establishment in Germany may participate in the proceedings before the German Patent and Trade Mark Office or the Federal Patent Court which are regulated under this Act and assert the rights conferred by a registered design only if they have appointed a lawyer (Rechtsanwalt) or patent attorney (Patentanwalt) as their representative who is entitled and authorised to represent them in proceedings before the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, before the Federal Patent Court and in civil litigation affecting the registered design, as well as to file an application for criminal prosecution.
(2) The place where a representative appointed in accordance with subsection (1) has his or her commercial premises is deemed, within the meaning of section 23 of the Code of Civil Procedure, to be the place where the asset is located; if there are no such commercial premises, the place where the representative is residing in Germany is decisive or, if there is no such place, the place where the German Patent and Trade Mark Office has its seat.
(3) The legal termination of the appointment of a representative as referred to in subsection (1) does not become effective until the German Patent and Trade Mark Office or the Federal Patent Court has been informed both of the termination of this appointment and of the appointment of another representative.