Every EU Member State has its own intellectual property Office, but EUIPO is currently becoming more fundamental as the trademark and design registry for all EU member-states. An application to obtain a registration of your trademark can be filed to EUIPO for a set fee, which grants an exclusive right and a legal protection against infringement within the internal market of the EU. The EUIPO made possible the registration of almost 120 000 trademarks during the last year and it played a crucial role in the harmonization of national trademark systems.
Trademark registration in EU
The company that
registers a trademark obtains an exclusive right to use it together with legal protection. In this way, the trademark itself can gain a value, which can grow with time, according to the value and reputation of the brand. The trademark holder can prevent the use of a similar trademark for a similar business purpose if unauthorized third parties undertake such attempt. Therefore, it is very convenient to register a trademark, if you want to prevent a competitor from using a similar sign to identify its products or services.
The trademark holder has the right to use well-known symbol ®, making it clear that no other company can use this trademark, because it has already been registered and is under legal protection.
Registering a trademark can also give you the possibility to reach agreements for franchising contracts, gaining a share for the use of the trademark made by the contractors. In such manner, the creation of a chain becomes possible.
Nonetheless, the registration could be rejected if it does not meet specific requirements. In particular, the requirement of distinctiveness means that, for example, words describing company's goods or services are too generic, implying it cannot be registered as a trademark.
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