European Union Trademark System Review

What is The EU Trademark Reform?

The European trademark system is a dual system, meaning that a trademark can be registered in the European Union (EU) either at the EU level as a European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) or at the national level as a national trademark at the intellectual property office of individual EU Member States. The European trademark system went through a major reform, with changes beginning in 2016, and it is captured in the following texts:

• The EU Trade Mark Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2017/1001) referred as the EUTMR, which includes EUIPO-related fees. The Regulation entered into force on March 23, 2016 (or, for a few provisions, on October 1, 2017).
• The European Union trade mark delegated regulation (EU) 2018/625
• The European Union trade mark implementing regulation (EU) 2018/626

The Directive approximating the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks (Directive (EU) 2015/2436) (the Trade Marks Directive) and EU Member States’ national legislation to implement the Directive at the national level, before January 15, 2019, with the exception of administrative cancellation proceedings, to be introduced by January 15, 2023.

Our Position

Through various committees, we have regularly been participating in the overall examination of the EU trademark system since the current review process began in May 2007. We have advocated our positions throughout all the consultations and different stages of the law-making process to the European Commission, Council, and Parliament, which finally resulted in the adoption of the new EU Trade Mark Regulation and Trade Marks Directive in December 2015.

We advocate for a more harmonized, modern, and efficient trademark system for the benefit of trademark owners.

We are monitoring the implementation of the reform, including at the EU Member State level. For further details about the reform and useful tools to navigate the new system, click here.