A trademark is any sign that distinguishes your goods or services from those of other businesses. It is the legal foundation of your brand.
ArticleTrademarks, patents, and design rights
Intellectual property protection comes in several forms. Understanding the differences helps you choose the right tool.
Trademark
Protects brand identifiers - words, logos, shapes - that distinguish your goods or services in the market. Duration is potentially indefinite, provided you renew every 10 years and continue using the mark.
Patent
Protects new inventions and technical innovations. Patents grant a time-limited monopoly (typically 20 years) in exchange for public disclosure of the invention.
Design right
Protects the visual appearance of a product - its shape, lines, colours, texture, or ornamentation. A registered design right in the EU lasts up to 25 years.
These protections are not mutually exclusive. A product can be simultaneously protected by all three - a registered shape as a trademark, its unique appearance as a design right, and its underlying mechanism as a patent.
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The European Union Intellectual Property Office manages EU trademarks and designs - covering all 27 member states in a single registration.
Registering a trademark follows a structured process. Understanding each stage helps you set the right expectations and avoid delays.
Registration timelines vary by office and complexity. A straightforward EU trademark typically takes 4 to 6 months from filing to registration.
There are two separate reasons a trademark application can fail. Either the name is not something any single business is allowed to monopolise, or it collides with a trademark that already exists. The two are assessed at different stages, and they need different fixes.
Trademarks are registered for specific goods and services, organised into 45 classes under the Nice Agreement - a global system used by over 150 countries.
A structured overview of all 45 trademark classes, grouped by goods and services.
Registration is not the end of the process - it is the beginning. Monitoring ensures your mark is not diluted or infringed without your knowledge.
If a newly published trademark conflicts with yours, you can challenge it during the opposition period. Here is how the process works.
Registered trademarks must be renewed every 10 years. Failure to renew results in expiry and loss of protection.
A registered trademark can be cancelled if it has not been genuinely used for 5 consecutive years. Here is what you need to know.
