Deutsches reichspatent: Significance of the term

[vonbrugge]

I have a question concerning the significance of the ''deutsches reichspatent'' marking on visor caps. Since the german reich ended in 1945, I Always assumed items with the drp marking are pre- 1945 made. Post war made items sometimes have the dbp or ''deutsches bundes patent'' marking (for west german items). I Always kept in mind that very early post war visor caps could appear with the drp marking too, simply because they did not have the time/ interest yet of changing their way of manufacturing. That is what I tought for a long time but it seems the 'drp' marking appears on later postwar made items, for sure up to the mid 50's! As an example I attached a picture of a 1954 made west german camera. Does this also happen with visor caps? Maybe I misiterpreted the term 'deutsches reichspatent', I tought the patent ended in 1945 along with it's appearance ... but maybe it turns out it was used later on.. to be clear: If the design of an item or part of it was patented sometime between 1890-1945 and the design of that item has not changed since 1945, that would mean the drp stamp could still have been used for some years. Is this a correct conclusion? I'm only starting to collect so I'm sure some more experienced people will be able to clear things up a little.

I thank you all

[HPL2008]

This is of interest here:

Change from DRP to DBP on top plate - Leica Collectors & Historica - Leica Forum

(The thread is about cameras specifically, but I see no reason why the same situation shouldn't have applied to other patented designs.)

[ErWeSa]

Or this: DRGM - DRP - Registered

[harryamb2]

lovely camera.