What's the difference between registering a trademark through EUIPO and WIPO?

Photo of Jan Buza

Written by Jan Buza

Co-founder of Trama

The EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) and WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) are two different organizations that provide similar trademark registration services. EUIPO can help you register a trademark within the European Union (EU), which includes 27 member states. WIPO provides international trademark registration services - you can register your trademark in multiple countries worldwide through the Madrid System.

To be able to use the WIPO filing, you must file a base application first. You have to submit your application to your office of origin. Then, you can request an international application filing and indicate the countries where you wish to protect your trademark so that the office of your origin might certify it and send the application to WIPO.

There are other differences between EUIPO and WIPO applications, such as:

  • All EUIPO applications must be submitted in one of the official languages of the EU, whilst WIPO applications can be submitted in any of the 12 languages recognized by the Madrid System.
  • The fees between the EU registration and the WIPO registration also differ. The final WIPO fee depends on the number of countries where you wish to register your trademark.

If you plan to use your trademark within the scope of the EU, it might be sufficient to register your trademark via EUIPO. The most important thing is to protect your brand in those countries where you might get copied. If you are planning to do your business across the world, you might consider WIPO registration.

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