EU trademark filing with the EUIPO

No additional professional fee on registration

Registration reporting and the digital certificate are included in the professional fee. Handling deadline-bearing official communications and any additional legal work are charged separately as set out below.

Your instructions, our filing service

Your firm provides the applicant details and the trademark to be filed, and specifies the goods and services to be covered. Submit these details through the portal or an agreed API integration.

The professional fee does not include a trademark availability or similarity search.

You choose the level of support

Additional legal advice, searches and responses to office objections can be agreed separately, with the scope and estimated fees discussed in advance.

Additional charges

For an office objection, this handling fee also covers the brief initial assessment and the estimate for further work described in the procedure. Preparing or filing a substantive response requires separate agreement.

Professional charges exclude VAT where applicable. Responses to office objections and opposition proceedings are charged separately.

Services requiring separate instructions

• Responding to objections raised by the office.
• Representation in opposition proceedings.

The EU trademark registration procedure

1. 1

   Your firm submits instructions

   Your firm instructs us through the Filing Portal or an agreed API integration. After submitting your instructions, you can request an email confirming their submission. This does not confirm acceptance of the engagement, which we confirm separately before filing. We communicate with your instructing firm; your client remains the applicant and your firm’s client.

2. 2

   Formal review and translation

   We check the application details and documents for formal requirements. Where needed, we translate the goods and services specification into German or English, depending on the procedural language chosen for your application. Translation of the specification is charged at €10 per class. When translating, we aim to use harmonised, pre-accepted goods and services terms wherever they accurately reflect your firm’s intended scope of protection. This helps speed up examination and reduces the risk of objections to the wording or classification.

3. 3

   Filing with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)

   Once the documents are complete and consistent and any required translations are ready, we file the application. We usually file within one to two working days of receiving instructions, provided the necessary information is complete. Please agree any urgent filing date with us in advance.

4. 4

   Filing receipt and application number

   Immediately after electronic filing, the EUIPO provides a submission receipt and application number. We send your firm a filing confirmation and a link to the office’s online record. In our experience, the record is usually accessible within about an hour of filing; availability depends on the office’s systems.

5. 5

   Examination by the office

   Examination begins once the official application fee has been paid. The office examines the formal requirements and absolute grounds for refusal, such as a lack of distinctive character. This examination does not replace a trademark availability or similarity search. Fast Track eligibility depends on EUIPO requirements, including use of pre-accepted terms from the Harmonised Database and timely payment. In our standard process, we invoice after filing and pay the official fees once your payment has been received. If you require Fast Track processing, please agree the arrangements with us in advance so that the payment requirements can be met. Fast Track does not shorten the three-month opposition period.

6. 6

   Office objections: your firm chooses the response

   If the office identifies deficiencies, we send your firm the official communication, a translation into your preferred language, a brief initial assessment and an estimate of the work and costs of addressing the objection. The €45 fee per deadline-bearing communication includes forwarding, translation, recording and monitoring the deadline. Your firm chooses whether we provide full support based on its instructions, review its draft, or simply file a response it prepares. For full support, we propose how to address the deficiencies and, where appropriate, include a draft response for approval. Additional work is agreed in advance and billed at the agreed hourly rate in six-minute increments, with each started increment charged in full, unless otherwise agreed.

7. 7

   Publication, opposition period and registration

   If the application meets the requirements and any deficiencies have been resolved, the EUIPO publishes it. A three-month opposition period follows. If no opposition is filed, or any opposition no longer prevents registration, the mark can be registered once the remaining requirements are met. We retrieve the digital certificate from the EUIPO and send it to your firm with the registration report.

8. 8

   Completion and continued representation

   If registration is completed and no opposition has been filed within the opposition period, the initial filing assignment is complete. If an opposition is filed, we report it to your firm and agree the next steps and any additional work separately. We report the outcome and, as applicable, the refusal of the application, partial refusal and registration for the remaining goods or services, or registration in full. We remain recorded as representative for the application and any resulting registration until your firm instructs us otherwise.

Protection for ten years from filing

For both new German trademarks and EU trademarks, the ten-year term is calculated from the application’s filing date. Protection can be renewed for further ten-year periods. Renewal instructions and the applicable fees are agreed separately.