Register a Trademark

Register a Trademark

Our firm’s Intellectual Property Department takes pride in its responsiveness, efficiency, reliability and diligence in servicing our clients in a cost-effective, time-efficient and highly qualitative manner.

A trademark may, depending on the geographical extent of the protection to be afforded and the particular needs of the owner thereof, be registered at a national level (eg in the Republic of Cyprus), at a community (EU) level or at an international level. In this respect, kindly find below some useful information with regards to the registration of trademarks:

National (Cyprus) Trademark

A national trademark is only protected at a national level (ie only within the Republic of Cyprus) while not maintained and protected internationally; thus, a Cyprus trademark will only give its owner national protection. Before applying for the registration of a national trademark in Cyprus, we will conduct our searches in order to find out whether

  • the trademark is capable of registration and
  • (ii) there is a similar or identical trademark, already registered. Following the conclusion of the search, a formal letter will be addressed to the Registrar of Companies (“the Registrar”) requesting the registration of the trademark. The Registrar will reply to the aforementioned letter within two (2) to three (3) months, depending on its work-load, informing the applicant of the date on which the application for the registration of the trademark will be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic. Following the publication, the Registrar will not grant its permission for the registration of the trademark, unless a period of two (2) months from the publication date has been lapsed. In the absence of any objections against the registration of the trademark, the Registrar registers the trademark and issues the respective certificate.

The registration of the trademark remains valid for a period of seven (7) years from the date of registration and must be renewed at its expiration.

Community Trademark

A community trademark offers its owner enhanced protection since a community trademark is well protected in all countries of the European Union. Initially, we will conduct our searches in order to find out whether

  • the trademark is capable of registration and
  • (ii) there is a similar or identical trademark, already registered. Then, an application for the registration of a Community Trademark will be filed. That application will then be examined and in case no errors or defaults will be detected, it will be published in the Community Trademarks Bulletin (translated in all the official languages of the EU) giving everyone the right to object the application. The period granted for oppositions is three (3) months from the publication date. In the absence of any objections against the registration of the trademark, the approval for the registration of the Community Trademark is granted. Kindly note that the registration of the Trademark is valid for a period of ten (10) years from the date of its registration whereas once it is registered, the trademark is established as a trading name and protection is given for non-EU jurisdictions as well, provided that the trademark will be a well-known and recognized mark. Nevertheless, you have to keep in mind that if the trademark is not used within the EU within five (5) years from its registration, its cancellation may be requested. In this regards, it is worth to note that exact goods/services in regards to which the trademark is going to be used must be indicated on the application; however, you should bear in mind that in case you do not use all the goods or services, such a trademark will be vulnerable to attack.

 International Trademark

In the case of an international trademark, protection is provided in the countries where the trademark is registered. In this respect, please note that there are two options: either to proceed with the filing of an Application directly to the competent international organization or proceed with the filing of such an Application to the Department of Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver (upon approval of the application for the registration of the trademark at national level).

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