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European Union trade mark (EUTM) meaning
What does European Union trade mark (EUTM) mean?
An European Union trade mark (EUTM) is a single trade mark registration used in practice to secure brand protection across all EU Member States through one application to the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). It is a unitary right defined in EU legislation (the EU Trade Mark Regulation), giving uniform protection and effect across the EU: one registration, one renewal, and any assignment, invalidity or revocation operates EU‑wide.
Key features include: filing in one class specification for goods/services; availability of Paris Convention priority; the ability to claim seniority from earlier national EU registrations; exposure to opposition and cancellation based on earlier rights; and a requirement of genuine use in the EU within five years of registration.
An EUTM can be enforced before designated EU trade mark courts, with the possibility of EU‑wide relief. It does not provide protection in the United Kingdom following Brexit. Existing registered EUTMs on 1 January 2021 were cloned into comparable UK trade marks; EUTM applications pending on that date could be refiled in the UK within set time limits. Practitioners in England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland must file separately in the UK; in Ireland, an EUTM continues to have full effect alongside any national Irish...
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View the related Practice Notes about European Union trade mark (EUTM)
PRACTICE NOTES
EU/EEA parallel imports and trade mark exhaustion: consent, legitimate reasons, repackaging (BMS), enforcement
The legal framework This Practice Note sets out EU trade mark rules on parallel trade. Parallel imports—also called ‘grey market’ goods—are authentic products first put on the market by, or with the approval of, the rights holder, but then brought into a specific market for sale without that holder’s permission. They are not fakes or ‘black market’ items. For guidance on counterfeit products, see Practice Note: IP enforcement and the EU customs regime. Much of the applicable doctrine derives from the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The principle concerning exhaustion of trade mark rights is codified in Article 15 of Directive (EU) 2015/2436, which regulates national trade mark registrations across Member States. Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 (the EU Trade Mark Regulation) governs EU trade mark (EUTM) registrations and gives effect to the relevant rules for EUTMs. The central provision is Article 15. For further detail on EUTM legislation, see Practice Note: EU trade marks—legislation. The approach to parallel trade for other IP rights is the same...
21 May
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View the related Q&As about European Union trade mark (EUTM)
Q&As
Unconventional EUTMs: representation options and filing strategy
In this Q&A we focus on the amendments introduced by Regulation (EU) 2015/2424 (subsequently consolidated in Regulation (EU) 2017/1001, the EU Trade Mark Regulation (EUTM Regulation)), along with the key points to consider when seeking protection for an unconventional mark. EU Trade Mark Regulation—What is new? See News Analysis: New EU trade mark reforms, which provides an analysis of the background to the new EU trade mark reforms. As outlined there, five new categories of trade mark can be applied for in the EU: Position Pattern Motion Multimedia Hologram These are in addition to a Certification Mark, which has been available in the UK for some time. The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has issued guidance relating to the new EU trade mark reforms...
27 May
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