DMG has used the successful, patent-protected, brand name "Mercedes" since September 1902. But there was still no characteristic trademark. Gottlieb Daimler's sons, Paul and Adolf, recalled that their father had once used a three-pointed star as a symbol.Gottlieb Daimler was the Technical Director of Deutz Gasmotorenfabrik from 1872 to 1881. At the beginning of his period of employment, he had marked his house on a picture of Cologne and Deutz with a three-pointed star. He predicted to his wife that this star would one day rise gloriously above his production plant.

The DMG Board of Management seized on this prediction and in June 1909 registered both athree-pointed and four-pointed star as trademarks. Both logos were legally protected but it was the three-pointed star that was ultimately used and a three-dimensional star featured on the front radiator of vehicles from 1910 onwards.

The three-pointed star was also intended as a symbol for Daimler's principle of universal motorisation "on the ground, on water and in the air". Over the years it underwent a number of design amendments. In 1916 a circle was placed around the star, in which four small stars and the word Mercedes or the name of the DMG plants Untertürkheim and Berlin-Marienfelde were inserted.

In November 1921, DMG applied for protection of utility patents for new variants of its brand logo and registered a three-dimensional three-pointed star enclosed in a circle at the patent office – including a design for the radiator grille.

In June 1926, the two oldest motor manufacturers DMG and Benz & Cie. merged to form Daimler-Benz AG. A new brand logo was born, which incorporated the key elements of previous emblems: the three-pointed star.The period after the First World War was heavily affected by inflation and poor sales figures – especially for luxury goods such as passenger cars – and weighed heavily on the German car industry. Only strong brands produced by financially established companies were able to survive, but were often forced into mergers or cooperations. Competitors for many years, DMG and Benz & Cie. entered into a joint venture as early as 1924 in order to remain competitive through standardised design and manufacturing, purchasing, sales and advertising.

During this period the two companies frequently engaged in joint advertising using separate trademarks. Two years later, in June 1926, the two oldest motor manufacturers merged to form Daimler-Benz AG.

A new brand logo encompassing the key elements of previous elements was created: the world-famous three-pointed star of the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft was surrounded with the "Mercedes" word mark and the equally acclaimed "Benz" brand name with a laurel wreath encircling both words.

To this day, this trademark, which has scarcely been modified over the decades, continues to grace Mercedes-Benz vehicles. The three-pointed star has become a universal symbol for quality and safety and the Mercedes-Benz name is associated with tradition and innovation, with the future of the motor car throughout the world