Post-factual.

TO BE DISCUSSED

As is so often the case, the headlines were rather abbreviated: ARD ran the headline: "Deutsche Post will soon be called DHL." Well. The fact is: Deutsche Post DHL Group will officially operate as DHL Group from September 2026. And the "Deutsche Post" brand will continue to be used for letter and press services in Germany. This means that no one needs to prepare themselves for the fact that they will soon no longer have to say "letter carrier", but rather "DHL messenger", and they can continue to wait for "the post" (and often longer than they would like). So it's also clear: you can still go to the pub "Zur alten Post"!

And anyway: "Post" is a generic term and no longer legally protectable. Competitors are also allowed to use this name for the transportation of letters and parcels - with a name affix, and not in yellow. This was not always the case: until 2006, Deutsche Post actually had a monopoly on the use of the term "Post". The company took legal action against the decision of the Patent and Trademark Office at the time to declare "Post" a generic term, all the way to the Federal Court of Justice - without success. Nevertheless, the name "in legal form" remained Deutsche Post AG. But today, the postal business only accounts for a fifth of sales, and of course the renaming is only logical. And for all those who mourn the old Group name: there are still Post-its, which are also yellow - and protected by trademark law.

Here is the link:

https://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/kultur/aus-post-wird-dhl-was-mit-dem-namen-alles-verloren-geht-200800841.html

7. May 2026
A post by:
Alexander Rauch

Alexander Rauch is Managing Partner of Spirit for Brands, a Cologne-based consultancy specializing in brand positioning, brand strategy and brand management.

This article was originally written in German and translated with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI).

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