According to official EUIPO statistics, the disputes that develop before the EUIPO and are part of the registration and subsequent validity of European trade marks and European designs are as follows:
On an annual basis, there are over 23,000 disputes involving two opposing parties.
At first instance, this includes:
- 18,000 oppositions;
- 1,200 cancellations;
- 700 design cancellation disputes;
At the second instance, 2,400 cases reach appeals and are considered before the Board of Appeal.
Given the statistics of the office responsible for registering European trademarks and designs, it is fully expected and normal for applicants for new trademarks and designs to have the expectation that they may be involved in a dispute.
Disputes develop at two main levels – before and after registration of the trademark:
- opposition during the registration of an European trademark – this is an “objection” filed by a third party, with which it disputes the applicant’s right to the trademark applied for. The dispute develops BEFORE there is a registration and the goal is to prevent it from being obtained. After filing an application – it is published and all third parties have a period of 3 months to file an opposition – if they file an opposition within the deadline – a dispute is entered into regarding the opposition, if no oppositions are filed within the deadline – the trademark application is registered;
- deletion of an already registered trademark – if there is an admitted (due to the lack of filed opposition) registration of a European trademark – any third party has the right to file a request for its deletion. These are the second category of disputes that concern European trademarks.
During the registration of a European design – there is no publication for the purpose of oppositions – the only option for protection against unlawful registration of a design is – cancellation after its registration.