geschützte

Geschützte is the attributive form of the German adjective geschützt, meaning protected. It functions as an adjective or participle and is used to describe things that have legal, ecological, or cultural protection. It is not a standalone noun, but appears in noun phrases such as geschützte Arten or geschützte Marken, and can also occur predicatively in sentences like der Bereich ist geschützt.

Common usage and contexts include biodiversity law, intellectual property, and designation systems. In biology and environmental policy, geschützte Arten refers to species safeguarded by conservation laws. In intellectual property, geschützte Marken denotes trademarks that have been registered and protected against unauthorized use. In product labeling and regional governance, geschützte geografische Angaben and geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnungen describe protected designations of origin or geographical origins within regulatory frameworks. The term also appears in cultural heritage contexts, for example geschützte Denkmäler to indicate monuments protected by preservation laws.

Grammar notes: when used attributively before a noun, the ending of geschützte varies according to the article and number. With a definite article in singular masculine or feminine, it takes -e (der geschützte Bereich, die geschützte Pflanze). With an indefinite article, it takes -er (ein geschützter Bereich). In plural with definite article, the ending is -en (die geschützten Arten). Predicatively, after sein or bleiben, the participle geschützt is used (Der Bereich ist geschützt).

Etymology: derived from schücken schützen, with the past participle geschützt forming the basis of the adjective; the ending geschützte reflects German adjective inflection.