In Germany, where the public display of Nazi symbols and slogans has long been prohibited, a new campaign is using trademark law to disrupt the sale of neo-Nazi merchandise online. Rights Against the Right (Recht Gegen Rechts), a coalition launched in 2021 by the advertising agency Jung von Matt in partnership with the Hamburg-based nonprofit Laut Gegen Nazis (Noise Against Nazis), is seeking to secure trademarks for Nazi-related symbols and coded phrases. By holding these trademarks, the group aims to prevent right-wing shops from profiting from apparel and products featuring such imagery and slogans.

Germany maintains strict laws restricting hate speech and Nazi iconography as part of its effort to confront its history. However, far-right sellers have found ways to circumvent these laws by using coded language and symbols—for example, replacing vowels in “Hitler” with “HTLR” or using “88” as shorthand for “Heil Hitler,” since H is the eighth letter of the alphabet. These designs help neo-Nazis identify merchandise that expresses their ideology while skirting legal restrictions.

Philip Schlaffer, a former neo-Nazi who profited from such sales before turning against the movement, now advises Rights Against the Right. He said the campaign’s strategy to cut off financial support to right-wing shops is key to limiting the movement’s influence. “This makes it, for a neo-Nazi, very difficult to plan into the future. They don’t have a safe space anymore,” Schlaffer said.

Researcher Maximilian Kreter of the Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarianism Studies at Dresden University of Technology estimates that roughly five major far-right shops in Germany generate enough revenue to sustain their owners. He noted these outlets have expanded since the early 2000s and are significant sources of income for neo-Nazi networks.

The campaign has secured six trademarks and is applying for more, though not all applications have been approved. The European Union’s intellectual property office rejected some requests because the symbols and phrases involved were deemed contrary to accepted moral standards. Others, like the trademark for Druck18—a major shop operated by far-right activist Tommy Frenck—were granted. Druck18 sells items ranging from apparel bearing neo-Nazi messages to novelty products such as a “Reich” cookbook and militaria-themed bottle openers.

Rights Against the Right sought to repurpose the Druck18 trademark by creating an anti-Nazi version of the website, replacing far-right messaging with sarcasm and condemnation. Frenck challenged the move in court, and while a German court recognized the campaign’s trademark rights and ordered Frenck to pay legal costs, it stopped short of shutting down his original site. Frenck has publicly vowed to launch additional shops in response to the campaign’s efforts and dismissed the initiative as a public relations stunt.

Rights Against the Right operates its own online store featuring apparel that repurposes Nazi codes with explicit anti-Nazi messaging. For example, shirts display phrases like “This shirt depressess Nazis,” referencing the coded “ess ess” for the Nazi SS. Another design appropriates banned terms such as “HKN KRZ” (a shorthand for “hakenkreuz,” German for swastika) but visually strikes through the letters.

Since launching its store, the campaign has raised over €10,000 (approximately $11,550) for Laut Gegen Nazis. Advertising executive Simon Knittel, who founded Rights Against the Right, acknowledges the challenge in confronting entrenched far-right ideology but remains committed to the campaign’s objectives. “I saw this problem, and I just wanted to solve it with a clever idea,” he said.

Experts stress the limitations of this approach, cautioning that while trademark enforcement may disrupt commercial avenues and raise public awareness, it cannot eradicate extremist beliefs. Kreter compared the campaign to other grassroots efforts in Germany, such as public demonstrations that mock neo-Nazi marches and redirect funding to organizations that help individuals leave right-wing groups.

Knittel said the campaign is ultimately motivated by a desire to take tangible action against the far right. “In the end, I had the feeling I wanted at least to say to my children or grandchildren, I tried to do something,” he said.