We can help you find information by:

• information services  (the enquiriest are carried out by the Office) and
• databases  (you search for information yourself in publicly accessible databases).

Submit your application

Trademark application that you can prepare yourself or authorise an agent to.

To obtain a trademark, you can submit an application through the e-application system or on paper. In this case,  the application must include:

• an application for registration of the trademark, normally on a filled inTrademark application form (SIPO Z-1);
• a list of goods or services in duplicate, in which the goods and services are classified according to the International Classification of Goods and Services (Nice Classification);
• a representation of the sign in black and white in five copies; if the sign protection in colour is sought, representation of the sign in colour in five copies;
• collective mark rules, if a collective mark registration is applied for;
• if protection is sought for a sound, a graphic representation of the sound, such as a musical notation or a sound recording in a CD format (CD-DA) or as an MP3 file; the length of the playback should be limited to a maximum of one minute; the size of the MP3 file should be limited to 1 MB; and the choice of bit rate for the encoding of the data should allow a playback quality approximately equivalent to that of the CD recording.
• proof of payment of the prescribed application fee;
• power of attorney for the agent, if the application is filed through an agent.

The trademark application form must be submitted in a single copy.

The Office shall assign the filing date and the number of the application for each application which contains the following minimum necessary elements: a statement that a registration of the trademark is sought, particulars enabling the applicant to be identified or contacted, a representation of the sign, and an indication of the goods or services for which a trademark protection is sought.

If the application does not contain the minimum necessary elements, the Office shall invite the applicant to complete the application. When it is complete, the Office shall assign it a filing date and a number.

The Office shall carry out a formalities examination.

A formalities examination follows in which the Office determines whether the application complies with the requirements of the Industrial Property Act and the Trademark rules.

If it finds deficiencies, it invites the applicant to remedy them and, if the applicant does so, it continues the procedure.

The Office shall carry out a substantive examination.

After the formalities examination of the application, the Office examines whether, having regard to the absolute grounds for refusal (Articles 42 and 43 of the Industrial Property Act), the applied sign can be registered as a trademark.

If it finds that the applied sign meets the requirements of Articles 42 and 43 of the Act, it shall publish the trademark application in the Industrial Property Bulletin.
After publication of the trademark application, the proprietor of the earlier trademark may, within three months from the date of publication, file a written opposition to the registration of the trademark.

The Office shall notify the trademark applicant of the opposition filed. It shall examine the merits of the opposition on the basis of the statements contained therein and the applicant's opinion, if any.

Filing an opposition

The proprietor of a previously registered identical or similar trademark may, within three months of the date of publication of the application, file a written opposition to the registration.

The Office registers a trademark

If no opposition to the registration of a trademark has been filed or the Office finds that it is unfounded, it shall request the applicant to pay the fee for the registration of the trademark for the first ten years.

On receipt of the prescribed fee, it shall issue a decision on the registration of the trademark and shall publish the particulars of the trademark in the Industrial Property Bulletin.