The EU has a 4-tier trademark registration system. Which one you choose depends on the needs of your business.
Let’s say you just need protection in one EU member state. You can apply for trademark registration directly with the relevant national intellectual property office. This is the national path.
If you need protection in Belgium, the Netherlands, and/or Luxembourg, you can apply to the Benelux Intellectual Property Office (BOIP), the only regional intellectual property office in the EU, to protect your trademark in these three member states. This is a regional route.
If you need protection in more EU member states, you can apply to register an EU trademark with EUIPO – this is the European path.
The national, regional, and EU systems complement each other and work in parallel with each other.
National and regional trademarks are essential for users who do not want or do not need to protect their trademarks at the EU level.
Trademark registration fee in Europe:
The fee amount depends on:
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whether it is filed by electronic means;
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whether it is an individual EU trademark, EU collective or an EU certification mark;
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how many classes of goods and/or services are covered in your application.
The basic fee covers one class for EUR 850. The fee for the second class of goods and services is EUR 50. The fee for three or more classes is EUR 150 for each class.
Trademark registration Europe cost
The cost of registering a trademark in Europe is €850 for one class. If you wish to apply in paper form, a fee of EUR 1,000 must be paid.
What countries are covered by an EU trademark registration?
A European Union TradeMark covers all 28 member states of the European Union through one registration, namely: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
The EU trademark system consists of one single registration procedure that gives its owner an exclusive right in the 27 Member States of the European Union.
A national trademark gives protection only in the Member State in which it has been registered, while with EU trademark owner gets an exclusive right in all current and the future EU Member States. It is entirely up to the applicants whether they want to obtain national, regional, EU-wide, or international registration of their trademark.
