Trademarks Office in the EU  and the UK will not refuse your trademark if there is a prior filed or previously registered similar trademark.

Instead the Trademarks Office in the EU and the UK only looks at absolute grounds (i.e. if the mark is deception or descriptive, it may be refused).

However, if there is a similar trademark, it will not be refused by the Trademarks Office. Instead, owners of similar trademarks may oppose during the 3-month opposition window in the EU and during the 2 month opposition period in the UK.

One of the main reasons one may file an opposition is confusion with an earlier trademark. Opposition proceedings offer an owner of an earlier trademark the right to oppose the registration of a trademark that could endanger his/her business.

By monitoring the EU Intellectual Property Office database or the UK Intellectual Property Database, you will ensure that you will timely see newly filed EU / UK trademarks and will be in a position to oppose in time. Ask us about the monitoring service.

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