Trend 4: The definite article is omitted more often than in the past.
As late as 2000, the style guide of a then quite conservative German “Anwaltskanzlei” that was on its way to becoming an international law firm specified that company names should have the definite article in the genitive case – e.g. “Die Webposts der Schleicher Sprachservice GmbH & Co. KG erfreuen sich größter Beliebtheit”. You wouldn’t necessarily say that today, but rather you’d omit the article, i.e. “Die Webposts von Schleicher Sprachservice GmbH & Co. KG erfreuen sich größter Beliebtheit“.
I regret this trend since the definite article used to make it much easier to make references, because a company is always feminine: “Die Schleicher Sprachservice GmbH & Co. KG ist eine auf Texte aus Legal & Finance spezialisierte Boutique. Sie zeichnet sich durch hohe Qualität und konsequente Kundenorientierung aus. Mit ihrem breiten aufgestellten Mix an Rechtsgebieten betreut sie Kunden aus allen Bereichen.” This literally translates as “The Schleicher Sprachservice is a boutique specialised in Legal & Finance. She is proud of her high quality and consistent customer focus. With her broad mix of legal areas, she serves clients from all sectors.” And all of this only because the word for “company” (Gesellschaft) is female.