EU Trademark Registration Explained: Fees, Conflicts and Key Rules

When it comes to trademarks in the European Union, it can be really tricky because at the same time there are 26 different trademark registers and they sometimes overlap. So there are more than 20 national trademark registers, one for every country of the European Union. Apart from Benelux: Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg have one single trademark register. 

Those are national trademark registers and all of them have different requirements, different time frames to register trademarks, different prices, different approaches, different rules of what can be registered as a trademark. 

And there is this European Union Intellectual Property Office which is a new thing and frankly speaking it’s amazing. It covers 27 countries of the European Union, all the countries of the EU. So with one trademark you cover all the countries and here’s the catch. In some countries there might be a case that there is a national trademark and there is a European trademark and they are valid at the same time even though they are conflicting. So how usually those conflicts are resolved? An earlier trademark will be prioritised over a subsequent trademark.

The trademark registration process in the European Union is quite fast. If you pay all the fees upfront and there are no apparent conflicts, the trademark can be registered in as little as three to four months. And if you pay your official fee later (EUIPO gives you one month to pay it) the process can take up to six months. 

If you want to learn more about filing directly in the European Union, you can also review our detailed guide on EU Trademark Registration

I wanted to make this article a little bit more engaging, and I will proceed responding to the questions my clients asked me about European Union trademarks. 

What is a government fee in the European Union? 

The government fee for filing a trademark in the European Union starts from 850 euros. That’s as little as you can pay. 

What is the price per each additional class? 

Actually, that’s a very good question, because strictly speaking, the government fee per additional class varies. The second class will cost you only 50 euros in government fees, and each additional class after the second will cost you 150 euros. 

What if there is a conflicting trademark in the European Union database? 

If there is a conflicting trademark in the European Union database, normally the conflicting mark can launch an opposition process against your trademark, but the trademark office itself will not issue an objection against a filed European trademark. 

What if there is a conflicting trademark in one countries of the European Union? 

As I mentioned, there are national registers and similar trademarks from those registers can be used as a basis for an opposition. The Trademark Office of the European Union (EUIPO) will not specifically search for those trademarks. Owners of those marks can monitor the EUIPO database and start an opposition process if they decide that there is a conflict.  

How to avoid getting into the opposition process? 

It’s very obvious, you need to perform a trademark search before filing your trademark. If there are any similar trademarks, there is a huge chance that those similar marks will begin an opposition process against your mark. 

How to check if you are authorized to file trademarks in the European Union? 

This is very easy. You can type in the name of our attorney in the European Union, Vladimir Isaev, it’s me, and find out how many trademarks do I have in my portfolio. https://euipo.europa.eu/eSearch/#basic

How reliable are you?

In total I filed nearly a thousand trademarks myself, both individually and as a representative of Bonamark.com Also, I’m a member of the INTA organisation, and my work is subject to its professional review.

How to search for trademarks in the European Union and how to check if your trademark is available? 

You can use the official search available on the European trademark database: https://euipo.europa.eu/eSearch/, but you will need to understand the results and here is where I can help. You can place a free request on our website bonomark.com and we will perform a trademark search for you. 

Why shouldn’t I file my trademark myself? 

You certainly can. Filing a trademark yourself in the European Union is not very difficult if you skip the search phase (not recommended).  It’s risky because there might be similar trademarks. 


Additionally, if you are a big business or at least a medium business, you wouldn’t want to do this yourself because you will be just wasting your time trying to understand all the legal jargon and the process and how to respond to any questions the EUIPO might ask you and how to respond to potential oppositions or any legal issues, etc. This is certainly not an efficient way to run a business.

If you’re interested in getting your trademark registered, be sure to contact me. And if you have any questions, please ask. I will be happy to respond to them. 

If you’re ready to register your trademark or want to explore the process in more detail, visit our
EU Trademark Registration page at Bonamark