The EU trademark registration procedure can be roughly divided into four stages: submission, review, announcement/opposition, and registration. The time required from submission of application to registration of the General *** is 4-7 months in the absence of objections.

1. Registration process and required time

(1) Submission stage (receipt will be issued within 1-3 days)

After submission, you can immediately obtain the EU Knowledge The IP Office receives an acceptance notice containing the application number and other information.

(2) Examination stage (3-6 months)

According to EU trademark law, the EU Intellectual Property Office only conducts an examination on absolute grounds after receiving an application, mainly examining trademarks Whether it is significant and whether it violates the ban on prohibition of comments. A trademark application will not be rejected because the trademark is identical or similar to an earlier application. This is mainly left to the prior right holder to decide whether to file an opposition application against this EU application.

(3) Announcement/Opposition Stage (3 months)

If no problems are found during the review or the problems found have been corrected, the applied trademark will be announced. Within three months after the announcement, any interested party or prior rights holder may lodge an objection with the EU Intellectual Property Office.

(4) Registration stage

If there is no objection or the objection is not established during the EU trademark announcement period, the European Union Intellectual Property Office will arrange a registration announcement and issue a registration certificate. It should be noted that currently the EU Intellectual Property Office only issues electronic registration certificates.

2. Issues that need attention after trademark registration

Submit a statement of continued use of the trademark. The EU trademark is valid for 10 years after registration. The validity period is calculated from the application date; within 6 months before the expiration date Renewal can be applied for, with a grace period of 6 months; the renewal period is valid for 10 years.

After the EU trademark is successfully registered, it will automatically take effect in the EU member states. List of 27 EU member states: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania, Malta , Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia.