Trade mark protection in Europe

Registering your trade mark in the United Kingdom (UK) does not protect it elsewhere in the European Community (EC).

To protect your trade mark throughout the EC, you can apply for a community trade mark (CTM) via the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM). To get protection in individual EC countries, you must make a separate application to each country.

You can use your UK trade mark application to claim priority when applying in the EC within 6 months of your UK application date. This means that your later application is treated as if you applied on the same date as in the UK.

Interested ? You may wish to follow the european route to protect your trade mark in the EC.