EU Patent and Trademark Office
Name of Office: European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)
Address: Av. de Europa, 4, 03008 Alicante, Spain
Phone number: +34 965 13 91 00
EU Trademarks were introduced on 1 April 1996, in addition to the national and international registration. On 23 March 2016, Regulation (EU) 2015/2424 of the European Parliament and the Council amending the Community trademark regulation entered into force and contains a number of changes.
Member states of the EU are the following: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom. The UK will cease to be a member from 29 March 2019.
European Union Trademarks are also valid in the following overseas departments: Guadeloupe (GP), Martinique (MQ), French Guyana (GF), Saint Barthélemy (BL), Saint Martin (MF), Åland Islands (AX), Azores, Madeira, Réunion (RE), Ceuta and Melilla, Canary Islands and Gibraltar.
The Trademark Offices apply the current version of the Nice Classification; you can find acceptable goods and services in this link.
Bonamark will prepare and file your trademark for registration in the countries-members of the EU.
EU Trademark Registration Requirements
Fill out our simple online form and a Trademark Specialist will contact you within 24 hours in order to guide you through the process.
Multiple-class applications are possible. However, additional fees are payable if an application is to cover more than one class.
With a registration at the EUIPO (trademarks, designs and patterns) in Alicante (Spain), the trademark will be protected in all member countries of the EU. A prior application or registration in the home country of the applicant is not required. In addition, the home country of the applicant does not have to be a member of the European Union either. Owners of national trademarks in the member states of the EU may file opposition against a trademark applied for as EU Trademark. Therefore, it is recommended to conduct a search in each member country before applying for a EU Trademark.
What is registrable as a trademark?
Registrable as a trademark is a sign capable to distinguish the goods and services of one organization from those of another.
Trademarks are words, logos, devices or other distinctive features and they can be represented in any appropriate form as long as the representation is precise, clear, self-contained, intelligible, easily accessible, objective and durable. They can consist of, for example, the shape of goods, colors or combinations of colors, their packaging, three-dimensional marks, sound marks, holograms, multimedia, etc.
The following trademark types are registrable: trademarks, service marks, certification and collective marks.
What will be required to file your brand in the EU?
- Type of the applicant: individual or a company.
- Complete name of the owner.Full address of the owner.
- Phone number - to contact you in case if any action is required.
- Mailing address - to forward you the certificate once the trademark is registered.
- List of goods/services.
- Class or classes.
- Trademark itself.
A power of attorney is not needed.
EU Trademark registration: Procedure
Applications are filed at the EUIPO in Alicante, Spain.
Multi-class applications are possible.
An agent is not necessary for applicants who have an office or residence in one of the member countries. Those applicants, who do not have their office or residence within the European Union or European Economic Area, must be represented by a professional representative or a legal practitioner entered on the list kept by the Office. The application must be written in any official language of the European Union. Upon filing, the applicant must specify a second language, one of the five languages of EUIPO (English, French, Spanish, German, or Italian). This second language can be used as procedural language in case of limitation, opposition or nullification procedures.
Please note, that foreign applicants do not need a domestic registration.
The application process includes an examination on formal, absolute grounds and search for prior trademarks (note to proprietors if expressly requested).
Before the trademark is registered, it will be published in the “EU Trademark Bulletin”.
The average processing time from application to registration is about seven months.
Trademark registration: Duration
A trademark registration is valid for 10 years from the application date and may be renewed for an indefinite amount of further periods each of 10 years.
Free Registered Trademark Search in the EU
Available online, you can request a free trademark search online on our website or here:
Trademark Database, which contains registered and filed trademarks in the EU.
This database is frequently updated so you can rely on the information, which you get from the website.
However, we recommend ordering a trademark study because this will let you check the probability of registration of your trademark in the countries-members of the EU, calculated by an experienced professional.
Trademark Application Fees
As of March 23, 2016, a new fee structure will apply with a one-fee-per-class system. The official fee for filing a European Union Trademark is EUR 1,000 for the first class in paper and EUR 850 electronically. The fee for the second class is EUR 50 and the fee for the third class is EUR 150. The fee for all subsequent classes is EUR 150.
Our fees (June 2018):
Trademark Search in one class (wordmark or logo): 99 USD
Additional class: 89 USDTrademark Search in one class (wordmark + logo): 159 USD
Additional class: 149 USD
Trademark Registration Request in one class (wordmark or logo): 1399 USD
Additional class: 299 USD
Trademark Registration Request in one class (wordmark + logo): 1399 USD
Additional class: 299 USD
No final fees are required.