Trademarks in Europe

The Community Trade Mark (Trademark) is unitary in nature, i.e. it is valid everywhere in the European Community, and gives proprietors exclusive rights enabling them to prohibit any third parties from using the sign in their commercial or industrial activities.

The unitary nature of the Community Trade Mark (Trademark), which covers all the countries of the European Union, means that formalities and management can be kept simple:

  • A single application;
  • A single language of procedure;
  • A single administrative centre;
  • A single file to be managed.

It is a simple procedure and applications are made by Merk-Echt directly to the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market in Alicante.

Protect your trademark in the European Union

The European Community trade mark is valid in all the 27 countries of the European Union by using it effectively and properly in a single Member Country. So there is no need to be concerned about your Community trade mark rights, even if you use your mark in one, or in a few member countries only.

Doing a search yourself in Europe is a time consuming and expensive process with high overheads and transmission costs. Merk-Echt saves you time, money and mistakes by providing you with one single form, where you can send instructions to file your European application. Just by one single form via email.

The European Union currently has 27 member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Croatia and the United Kingdom. This are the 27 countries where your trade mark will be valid.

There are two candidate countries, the Republic of Macedonia and Turkey. When these join the EU, your trademark will be automatically extended to these regions as well! Countries such as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia are officially recognized as potential candidates.

After you fill in the form below we first check if your brand name can be registered. Then you will receive an advice and a quote to register your brand name. You can file your registration for € 1.450,- for one class (each extra class € 250,-) for 10 years, and this can be extended indefinitely every 10 years. Our trademark attorneys will create the classification description, file and process the trademark application before the European Trademark Office. After the trademark is approved for registration you will receive the registration certificate from us and you will be entitled to use the ® behind your brand name. For as little as € 0,50 euro cents per day you will have the monopoly on your brand name in the whole European Union.

Free trademark search

Would you like to be informed free of charge whether the name below can be protected? Please contact Merk-Echt and send an e-mail to [email protected] or call us on +31 76 514 84 03.