trademark in Spain

Leading Law firm in Marbella wishes to explain the difference between a community trademark and an international registry. Doubts on both issues are sometimes considerable. We wish to try to shed some light on the issue.

Let’s say that both the community trademark and an international registry allow you to distinguish your services and products from those of your competitors. You might emphasise them from a more international point of view and also protect them in territories beyond the national one.

Community trademark

A community trademark has competence in the entire European Union.

If you wish to register your trademark within the European territorial limits, you can do so at the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market or thepanish Agency for Patents and Trademarks.

Once the registration is done, it is valid for 10 years. If you wish to register your trademark again after that time, you must do so at one of he above-stated agencies.

International registry of your trademark in Spain

If you prefer for your trademark to be protected internationally, beyond the European Union, you must go through the formalities of an international registry for your trademark.

You can request your international trademark at the Spanish Agency for Patents and Trademarks (OEPM). In order to request this at the Spanish agency, you need to have a Spanish trademark.

We must clarify that this does not mean that your trademark will be registered worldwide, but only in the countries that form part of the System of Madrid. This involves 80 countries, which include the United States and the United Kingdom.

Advantages to your trademark in Spain

The main benefit of registering your trademark as both a community trademark and an international registry is that it is much easier to have protection in other countries. Furthermore, it will be easier to handle other aspects, such as changes in ownership and limitations of some products or services.

Therefore, it is always recommended that you make the corresponding registries so that your trademark is protected as much as possible in all territories of the European Union and the remaining international territories.

Should you need any personal advice on any issue of registration for a community trademark and an international registry, contact our team of experts now.

Welex, motivated lawyers specializing in registries of trademarks in Spain. Welex your leading law firm in Marbella, Málaga, Spain