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EU brand: what it is and how it works The European trademark, originally called the Community trademark and established with Regulation no. 40/94 of the EC Council allows you to obtain with a single application a mark valid throughout the territory of the European Union. The European trademark is a unique title in the sense that it can be registered, transferred, renounced, declared void or lapsed and its use may be prohibited only for the whole of the Community and not for individual states. Let’s see how to make a trademark registration Italy and which iter to follow. 

THE PROCESS TO PREPARE A CORRECT QUESTION

 To register a European trademark, an application must be submitted to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) based in Alicante (Spain). Just fill in a special form that can also be downloaded from the Internet where the data of the applicant, aspiring brand owner, brand data and the classes of products or services that the brand wants to claim must be entered. Due to the new provisions, it is no longer possible to indicate the class number, but it will be necessary to list the products and services of interest. You must also give examples of the brand, in color or in black / white depending on the choice you have made, you will have to pay the taxes which vary according to the type of brand and the classes you have chosen. In the case of an application for registration of a collective trademark, a copy of the regulation on the use of the trademark must also be attached. 

The fact that this trademark is valid throughout the European Union requires the need for greater care in choosing the sign as even the trademark present in only one state of the Union could lead to the rejection of the application. It is therefore advisable to consult with an expert and not to proceed alone. 

HOW TO REGISTER After filing the registration application you will be labeled with a number and a filing date will be affixed from which the examination of the file begins. A first formal and technical examination is carried out by the office that checks the formal compliance of the application and the absence of the so-called absolute impediments to registration. For example, a trademark contrary to morality can be rejected directly by the office, as well as an offensive trademark. 

If, on the other hand, the trademark passes this office examination, then the application is published. From the date of publication, a three-month period starts to allow anyone who feels injured by the trademark application to file an opposition to registration before the EUIPO. In the absence of opposition, registration is successful.