Should exporters apply for an EU-wide trademark or protection in individual EU member states?
Companies adopt a variety of filing strategies for many different reasons, but if a U.S. company has the intention of trading in several EU countries, then the Community mark is the logical option. First and foremost, with combined filing and registration fees of around $2,000, the CTM is a cost-effective protection right, given that a 10-year registration for this fee covers 15 countries. This will extend automatically to 10 new member states in 2004. Administratively, the CTM offers the additional advantage of a single application to cover the entire EU territory, with one fee, one language, and one legislative framework. This greatly facilitates the management of a company’s trademark portfolio, eliminating the need to engage the services of attorneys in each member state, and avoiding the much-feared translation costs. Is it possible to register on-line? And what steps are involved between applying for a trademark and having it formally registered? To answer the first question, bot
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