What is a trademark?

How you get it

Registered. You apply to the IPI and the right arises on entry in the register. From a Swiss mark you can extend protection abroad through the Madrid System, filed via the IPI.

How long it lasts

Ten years from the filing date, renewable indefinitely for further ten-year periods.

The catch

The mark must actually be used. After a five-year grace period an unused mark can no longer be enforced, and anyone may ask the IPI to cancel it for non-use.

Switzerland is not in the EU or the EEA: an EU trade mark or registered EU design does not cover Switzerland, and the unitary patent does not extend here.

Office: Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI)

How you get it

Registered. The DPMA registers national German marks. Alongside it sit the EU trade mark at EUIPO covering all 27 member states, and international registration under the Madrid Protocol.

How long it lasts

Ten years from the filing date, renewable for further ten-year periods with no overall limit.

The catch

The DPMA does not check whether earlier marks conflict with yours. They bite only if their owner opposes after registration, so clearance searching is left entirely to you.

Germany is in the EU, so the national route sits alongside the EU trade mark and registered EU design at EUIPO, and the European patent at the EPO.

Office: German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA)

How you get it

Registered. File a national mark with INPI, an EU trade mark with EUIPO covering all 27 member states, or use the Madrid System to designate France or the EU.

How long it lasts

Ten years from the filing date, indefinitely renewable for further ten-year periods.

The catch

A French mark is acquired by registration, not by use. Trading under a name without filing creates no trade mark right and leaves the name open to somebody else's application.

France is in the EU, so the national route sits alongside the EU trade mark and registered EU design at EUIPO, and the European patent at the EPO.

Office: Institut national de la propriété industrielle (INPI)

How you get it

Registered, granted by the JPO after substantive examination. File directly with the JPO or through the Madrid Protocol.

How long it lasts

Ten years from the date of registration, renewable every ten years; the fee may be paid in two instalments.

The catch

Japan is first to file and use is not required to register, so a third party can register your mark first. Once registered, a mark unused for three years can be revoked on anyone's request.

Copyright is administered by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, not the JPO.

Office: Japan Patent Office (JPO)

How you get it

Registered. File nationally at the UPRP, at EUIPO for an EU trade mark covering Poland, or through the Madrid Protocol designating Poland or the EU.

How long it lasts

Ten years from the filing date, renewable indefinitely for further ten-year periods.

The catch

The UPRP no longer refuses applications over earlier marks of its own motion. An earlier mark blocks a later one only if its owner opposes within three months of publication.

Poland is in the EU but has not signed the Unified Patent Court Agreement, so a unitary patent has no effect in Poland.

Office: Patent Office of the Republic of Poland (UPRP)

How you get it

Registered. Examined and registered by UANIPIO, which has performed the national IP authority functions since November 2022, taking over from Ukrpatent. Ukraine can also be designated through the Madrid Protocol.

How long it lasts

Ten years from the filing date, renewable for further ten-year periods with no overall limit.

The catch

A registration can be terminated for five years' non-use, and the Supreme Court has held that martial law is not an automatic excuse - force majeure has to be proved case by case.

The wartime suspension of IP time limits was cancelled with effect from 31 May 2025 and deadlines now run normally. Guidance published before then, saying deadlines are suspended, is out of date.

Office: Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations (UANIPIO)

How you get it

Registered. Apply to the UKIPO, or designate the UK in a Madrid Protocol international registration.

How long it lasts

Ten years from the filing date, renewable indefinitely; renewal may be filed in the six months before expiry and up to six months after.

The catch

EU trade marks have not covered the UK since 1 January 2021. Existing EUTMs were cloned into comparable UK marks automatically, but one filed after that date gives no UK protection at all.

EU rights have not covered the UK since 1 January 2021. The UK remains a party to the European Patent Convention, which is separate from the EU.

Office: UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO)

How you get it

Rights arise automatically from use of a mark in commerce, so unregistered common-law rights exist - but only where the mark is actually used. Federal registration at the USPTO is optional and gives nationwide rights.

How long it lasts

A federal registration lasts 10 years and is renewable, but a declaration of use must also be filed between the fifth and sixth years.

The catch

The US register is use-based. The USPTO audits maintenance filings, and any goods or services you cannot prove actual use for must be deleted.

Copyright is handled by the US Copyright Office, not the USPTO. The US has no separate design right: appearance is protected by a design patent.

Office: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)