Durán-Corretjer SLP

"Our firm has a qualified team of Industrial Property Attorneys, European Union Trade Mark attorneys and lawyers who are experts in the field of distinctive signs and have a broad experience in providing advice, preparing, filing, prosecuting and defending European Union trade mark applications."

1.  INTRODUCTION.
The European Union Trade Mark enables the protection of a mark to be obtained simultaneously for all the countries of the European Union, by means of a single application, procedure, grant and maintenance before the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

2.  DESIGNATED COUNTRIES.
A European Union trade mark gives protection in the following countries:

* These three countries have a joint Trade Mark law under Benelux Trade Marks.

Due to the decision adopted by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, as from January 1, 2021, European Union trade marks no longer cover the United Kingdom. However, the United Kingdom grants protection to those European Union trade marks which were in force up to December 31st 2020 through an equivalent British trade mark registration, that will have to be renewed separately at the end of the duration of the corresponding European Union trade mark registration.

3. ADVANTAGES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION TRADE MARK.
Amongst others, the European Union Trade Mark has the following advantages:

• The European Union Trade Mark has its origin in a single application, which implies a lower cost regarding the application itself, as well as the processing, management, maintenance and renewal of the registration.

• Proceedings before EUIPO are carried out in only one of the five official languages of the Office, which are Spanish, English, French, German and Italian.

• Possibility of claiming seniority of nationally registered trade marks in the European Union that are identical to the European Union Trade Mark, in order to consolidate in the European Union Trade Mark all earlier rights purporting to the same mark.

• In cases of European Union Trade Mark infringement, it is possible to bring infringement proceedings before a single competent European Union Trade Mark Court whose decisions are enforceable in all Member States of the European Union, if the claim is filed in the country of the defendant.

 4.  PROSECUTION

•  Filing of European Union Trade Mark application

• Examination with respect to formal requirements.

• Substantive Examination (absolute grounds).

• Search report on prior trade marks (obligatory for earlier European Union trade marks, optional for earlier national trade marks)

• Publication

• Oppositions and/or objections from third parties

• Grant. Rejection. Appeals.

5.  TERM OF PROTECTION.  
The term of protection for a European Union Trade Mark is 10 years, from the date of filing the application, renewable for identical periods, indefinitely.

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