Community Trademarks

A single application can protect your trademark rights in the 27 countries of the European Union.

What we need from you

• Details of your trademark. If it contains a logo or is stylised then we need to see it, if possible, in electronic format.
• A list of your goods and services.
• Information on where you want to use it.
• Details of who will own it, name, address, and country of domicile, if a corporation the country/state of incorporation.
• Details of where the mark been filed elsewhere (if applicable), including the date of filing as this will assist us in determining if you can claim a priority date.

Filing your Community Trademark

Once an application has been filed, the official fees must be paid for the application to proceed to the examination stage. You may defer fee payment for up to one month after filing.

What happens once your Community Trademark Application is filed?

The Registry undertakes a formalities check. Assuming the application passes the formalities stage it will be published to allow third parties to object to its acceptance. The Community Registrar writes to owners of earlier similar Community Trademarks (or their agents) to draw their attention to them and allow them the option of filing opposition.

Assuming the Community Trademark application is not opposed, it proceeds to registration upon payment of the second round of official fees.

It takes on average 12-18 months for a Community Trademark application to be accepted and registered assuming it passes the formalities check and is not opposed.

What happens once the mark is Registered?

It remains on the register for a period of 10 years before it is due for renewal. We will contact you at the appropriate time and invite you to pay the renewal fees.

Use it or lose it

Trademarks have to be used to remain validly registered. Where they haven’t been used for a continuous period of five years from the date of registration they become vulnerable to cancellation by third parties and cannot be relied upon, for example, in UK opposition proceedings. How you have used them can also be taken into consideration where they are relied upon in Community opposition proceedings and the ability to implement the rights in them may be limited accordingly.

Changes to your trademark

Trademarks evolve and are altered over time. However, changes to a mark can render the registration unenforceable, so we need to see any such alterations. As part of our on-going service, we can conduct periodic reviews of your marks and advise you accordingly.

Community Member States