Hi Stan;
Good question. It is "Deutsches Reich Gebrauchs Muster". It basically translates to German Reich Registered Design or essentially a registered Trademark. A German patent was listed as a DRP or Deutsches Reich Patent. Both of these began in the 1800s. The DRP is I believe still in use today but the DRGM was discontinued in 1949 at the close of US occupation. With the new political regime as I understand it the name, but not the intent, was changed so that DRGM numbers did not appear on a product after 1952. I do not know if companies could continue with the mark even though it was no longer legally enforceable or not. I have seen US items with patent dates listed on them long after they had expired.
