Trademark substance and processes are very similar in every country. The basics don’t change very much. However, there are many differences between the systems that applicant’s should know. Here are seven important and practical things a US company should know about EU trademarks. 1. It’s all or nothing There are 28 countries (27 after Brexit) […]
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EUIPO’s cancellation division decided last week that McDonald’s EU trademark was revoked due to non-use. According to trademark law, if a registered trademark is not used for five years, it can be cancelled for non-use. The reason for this rule is to make sure trademark registers are not clogged with trademarks that are not being […]
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The basic concept The basic concept is relatively simple. A trademark applicant submits a request for international registration of his trademark to World Intetellectual Property Organization, known as WIPO. WIPO will then forward that single application to all those countries that the applicant has “designated” in the request. So one application goes from WIPO to […]
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When Coca-Cola filed their first trademark application on 14 May 1892, they had just barely been incorporated as a company. Fast forward a century and they are one of the world’s most famous brands. According to a new study published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), “firms that file in their first year […]
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Many companies think that registering a trademark is not important. Here are four reasons we hear the most. Reason 1 – We’re too small and it’s too early. Many companies think that trademarks are relevant when the brand is already big and valuable, or that since they have start started, it is not something that […]
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Trademark terms can be difficult to understand. Here are about 40 most important terms explained in a simple non-legal manner. Absolute grounds for refusal A trademark must fulfil some basic “absolute” criteria to be accepted. The first is that it contains something that can be registered as a trademark, i.e. a word, logo, slogan, sound, […]
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Your trademarks are your commercial identity, that’s how your clients can distinguish your products and services from everybody else’s. When creating a brand, there are several ways to reduce trademarking costs. Here’s 6 of them. 1. Focus only on one brand Building and protecting one brand is naturally cheaper than building multiple brands. For some […]
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Too many companies decide not to protect their trademarks because of cost reasons. Here are some calculations and comparisons how much an EU trademark costs. The calculations are based on the registration covering 3 trademark classes (government fee 1050 EUR) and having been filed on Reggster (attorney fee 395 EUR). So the total cost of […]
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Trademark laws and processes are surprisingly similar in most most countries. That being said, there are also many differences between different countries. Here’s three things how US and EU trademarks differ. 1. The importance of use The main difference between EU and US systems is that actual use of the trademark is very important in […]
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For most companies EU trademark is the best way to get their brand protected within EU. Here’s 5 practical things to know about EU trademarks. 1. They’re great, but not without downsides The obvious advantage of an EU trademark is that with one registration it is possible to cover 28 countries and a market of […]
Read more »Distinctiveness is very important. If your trademark is not sufficiently distinctive, it cannot be registered.
Check the distinctiveness of your trademark with a simple test.
