Guidance

Before filing

Before proceeding with the filing of the application for registration of national trademark with the Intellectual Property Section, you are advised to examine whether your proposed mark meets the following prerequisites:

• it constitutes a trademark and does not exclusively concern the general appearance of the product, an invention or a work protected by other types of intellectual property rights. For further information regarding other forms of intellectual property rights, you can refer to the page choosing the most suitable type of intellectual property right;
• it is capable of distinguishing the products or services of an enterprise from those of other enterprises;
• it specifies the object of the protection provided to its beneficiary with clarity and accuracy;
• it does not conflict with the absolute reasons of rejection;
• it does not conflict with the relative reasons of rejection;
• it does not infringe third party rights, by conflicting with an earlier registered trademark or an application for trademark registration. Towards this end, you are advised to conduct the relevant search.

Preliminary opinion

It is noted that, you may, before submitting the application, apply to the Intellectual Property Section for a preliminary opinion regarding the possibility of safeguarding your trademark, by submitting, either through the trademark's e-filing system or by hand / post, form Ε.Σ. 01 accompanied by the relevant fee of ninety nine euro (€99) and an additional fee of seventy seven euro (€77) for every class beyond the first one.

It is noted that the fees are payable depending on the manner of submission of the form:

• by credit card in case of electronic submission;
• in cash, by cheque, through an account in the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property or through bank transfer, in case of submission by hand/post.

If you are a registered user, you can proceed with the electronic submission of an application for trademark registration, otherwise you must first obtain access to the trademarks' e-filing system.

e-filing of preliminary opinion