EU-IR law - international trademarks/ union marks

International trademarks, Community trademarks and domestic trademarks effective abroad

Within a six months’ period following the registration of a German trademark, it is possible to extend the protection of a trademark to other countries effective from the day of the primary registration of the trademark in Germany. Apart from that, an international registration of a base German trademark is possible at the International Trademark Office (located at the WIPO/OMPI, World Organisation for Intellectual Property Protection). This registration is governed by the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Trademarks (MMA) and the Madrid Protocol (PMMA). Europe-wide registration of a trademark and an application for a domestic trademark of effective abroad provide further possibilities.

1. International Trademark Registration (IR-trademarks)

The following countries are party to one or both of the above mentioned agreements. By means of an application with WIPO/EUIPO we can extend the protection of a (usually German) base trademark to these countries. With the following chart we would like to provide you an opportunity to determine the countries on which the protection of your trademark should be extended.

AG Antigua and Barbuda AL Albania AM Armenia AT Austria AU Australia** AZ Azerbaijan BA Bosnia and Herzegovina BG Bulgaria BT Bhutan BX Benelux BY Belarus CH Switzerland CN China CU Cuba CZ Czech Republic DK Denmark** DZ Algeria EE Estonia** EG Egypt ES Spain FI Finland** FR France GB United Kingdom** GE Georgia** GR Greece** HR Croatia HU Hungary IE Ireland IS Iceland** IT Italy JP Japan** KE Kenya KG Kyrgyzstan KP Democratic People’s Republic of Korea KZ Kazakhstan LI Liechtenstein LR Liberia LS Lesotho LT Lithuania LV Latvia MA Morocco MC Monaco MD Rep. of Moldova MK The former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia MN Mongolia MZ Mozambique NO Norway** PL Poland PT Portugal RO Romania RU Russian Federation SD Sudan SE Sweden** SG Singapore** SI Slovenia SK Slovakia SL Sierra Leone SM San-Marino SZ Swaziland TJ Tajikistan TM Turkmenistan** TR Turkey UA Ukraine US USA UZ Uzbekistan VN Viet Nam YU Yougoslavia ZM Zambia

The basic official fee for an international registration for three classes amounts to 653 Sfr. (approx. € 442). Starting from the fourth class the official fees are increased by 73 Sfr. per each class. For each country on which the protection of a trademark should be extended additional official fees amounting to 73 Sfr. are charged. Filing an application via the German Patent and Trademarks Office is charged with the official fee of approx. € 176. In countries marked with “**”, individual fees are ranging from 112 to 1337 Sfr. The same applies to class fees, which range from 15 to 1262 Sfr. As far as our fees are concerned, you can find them in our performance specifications or have them estimated by us (including official fees) if you send us back this form.

The countries in bold and underlined printing are presently party to the Madrid Protocol only, the countries in italics are party to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Trademarks only. All the remaining countries are party to both agreements (MMA and PMMA).

2. Community Trademarks (Union Mark, EU-Trademarks, CTM)

By means of an application for a Community Trademark at the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (EUIPO) in Alicante, Spain, it is possible to apply for protection in all twenty seven member countries of the European Union. Members of the European Union are among others at present: Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, France, Finland, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Austria, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. Please note - in case of a trademark in German – that Switzerland is not a member of the EU and therefore it is recommended to register a trademark according to subsection 1. of this form.

The official fee for the application for a Community trademark in one class amounts to € 850, additional € 150 are charged per class starting from the third class. You can find our fees in our performance specifications or have them estimated by us (including official fees) if you send us back this form.

3. Domestic trademarks effective abroad

As far as countries are concerned which are not party to either of the above mentioned agreements (e.g. until 1st November 2002 the USA which became a member of the PMMA on 2nd November 2003) it is necessary to apply for a national / domestic registration by means of overseas representatives. We have worldwide contacts. The ensuing costs vary from country to country and must be determined individually. We will be happy to inform you. Please contact us.