Introduction

EU trademark is a single registration covering the whole of European Union which presently consists of 27 countries, namely Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Holland, Luxemburg, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Greece, Poland, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus, Malta, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia.  As such, EU trademark is a valuable trademark right with broad regional coverage.

Foreign companies and individuals are eligible to apply for EU trademark registration without nationality restriction or residency requirement. 

Proof of use inside the EU is not a requisite for filing of application, nor for issuance of the trademark certificate.

It is cheaper if the applicant has to register and maintain its trademark in more than 3 EU countries.  It also provide the ease of administration as there is only one certificate and one renewal date.  

Automatic extension to new territory is possible when neighbouring countries successfully join the EU. 

Genuine use of the community trademark in any one EU country is sufficient to prevent any challenge for non-use.


 

Fees

Our fee is HK$32,000 per mark for 1 to 3 classes. The classes are listed in the Nice Classification of Goods and Services.

The fee is inclusive of both the government fee and professional fees. There is no additional fee for the publication, registration and issuance of the trademark certificate.

A single application can include up to THREE (3) classes of goods and services at no additional charge.  If the applicant’s goods fall into more than 3 classes, the additional classes can be included in the same application at HK$5,500 per class.

Unless the application encounters objection, suggested amendment or opposition, there will not be any additional fee.

In the event of any objection or suggested amendment by the examiner, the applicant has the choice of (1) continue to pursue for registration at additional fee according to the complication, or (2) abandon the pending application at no extra-cost. 

In the event of any opposition by third party, apart from our additional fees, the applicant or the opponent who loses or abandons will be liable to pay the limited legal fees of the other side.

 

Search

Search for existing EU trademarks or prior EU applications is HK$2,200 per class.  The search does not cover the domestic registrations in individual national registries.

The search is inclusive of both identical and similarity search.  Pre-application search report is available within 1 week of instruction.

 

Timeframe

The application for EU trademark generally takes around 9 to 15 months to complete.

After filing, the applied mark will be searched against registered EU trademarks and national marks in all EU countries except Germany, France and Italy.  If no objection on absolute ground is raised, the application is then advertised for opposition.  If no opposition is received within the following 3 months, the applied mark will then be registered.

Upon registration, an EU trademark is valid for 10 years and is renewable indefinitely for further periods of 10 years each.

 

EU trademark certificate sample :

 

Classification of Goods

All types of goods or services on which the applicant’s mark is currently used or honestly intended to be used should be listed as broadly as possible in the specification of goods or services so as to achieve maximum coverage in the classes applied for.

After filing, the scope of the specified goods or services can only be narrowed and not be extended.  Upon registration, the scope of the exclusive right granted by the registration is limited by the ambit of the specified goods.

 

Details Required

1.	Applicant’s full name and address.
2.	Description of goods and services.
3.	Logo or stylized mark in .jpg format.

No power of attorney is needed from the Applicant.

 

 

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