European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)

Apply for a European trademark
Apply for a registered community design (equivalent to a U.S. design patent)

The EUIPO issues registrations for trademarks and registered community designs (RCDs) that have effect throughout the European Union (EU). These intellectual property rights are valid across all member states of the EU, but are separate rights from the trademark and design rights issued by individual EU member states. The EUIPO is a separate agency from that of the European Patent Office (EPO), which focuses on patents in European countries.

Treaties that help facilitate IP filings

Paris Convention (possibility of securing “priority” for overseas IP filings)

Under certain conditions and on fulfilling certain requirements, an application for trademark or RCD filed with EUIPO may be entitled to the benefit of the filing date of a prior application filed in the United States. A claim for benefit of a trademark or RCD must be made within six months of the U.S. filing date.

Hague Agreement (international design patent applications)

The EU is a Contracting Party to the Hague Agreement. The Hague Agreement offers the possibility of obtaining protection for up to 100 industrial designs in designated member countries and intergovernmental organizations by filing a single international application in a single language. For more information, see EUIPO's FAQ on the Hague Agreement.

Madrid Protocol (international trademark applications)

A trademark owner may be able to use its USPTO trademark application or registration as the basis for obtaining trademark protection in the EU through the Madrid Protocol. Visit WIPO to file an international application. For more information, see EUIPO's Madrid Protocol FAQ.

Worksharing and other cooperative arrangements

Priority Document Exchange (electronic transmission of certain filing documents)

The USPTO and the EUIPO participate in WIPO Digital Access Service (DAS), which allows the free, electronic transmission of certain filing documents between IP offices. It automates the provision of priority documents to offices of second filing, which is generally required to obtain the “right of priority” under the Paris Convention. For more information about EUIPO’s participation in WIPO DAS, visit WIPO's notifications regarding EUIPO and DAS.

TM5 ID List (harmonized multi-country list of descriptions of goods and services)

One critical component of any application to register a trademark is the identification of goods and services (the “ID”). The ID enumerates the goods and/or services on which, or in connection with which, that trademark is used. Trademark offices in different countries may have different standards as to which sorts of IDs are acceptable for inclusion in an application. As a result, trademark owners who want to obtain protection for the same trademark in multiple countries potentially have to create unique IDs for each of them. To lessen that burden, the USPTO leads an ongoing effort, in cooperation with its counterparts in the Trademark Five or “TM5” forum, including EUIPO, to maintain a pre-written “pick list” of IDs (the TM5 ID List) that will be accepted in the trademark offices of numerous countries, including EUIPO. IDs that are included in the TM5 ID List have a “T” in the TM5 column in the USPTO's Trademark ID Manual.

Learn more

Use the below interactive map to learn more about IP protection in the highlighted countries/regions.