Trade marks, designs and brand portfolios: the decisions this practice answers
This hub sets out which trade mark and design question belongs to which page in this practice, and why. A watch alert, a customs seizure, a licensing dispute and a logo redesign are different problems with different deadlines. Below, we map common situations to the page that answers each one, and to the neighbouring practices that a brand dispute often touches.
What "brand portfolio" adds
A single mark raises one decision: file, oppose, or defend. A portfolio raises several at once. Renewal dates land in different years for different marks. Classes cover different goods in different countries. A licence granted for one mark may not extend to another filed later under the same brand.
Once a business holds more than a handful of marks, the recurring question stops being "is this registrable" and becomes "what is actually in the portfolio, and where." That question belongs to an audit, not a single filing, and it sits behind several of the situation pages linked from this hub.
Basis
The core basis for a registered EU trade mark is Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 (EUTMR). It sets the filing, opposition and cancellation procedure for any EU-wide mark, and it coexists with national marks registered separately in each member state.
Border enforcement against counterfeit or infringing goods runs under a separate instrument. Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 lets a rights holder apply for detention of suspect goods at the customs border, ahead of any court decision on the merits.
Practical consequence
A filing date fixes priority against a later mark filed in the same class for similar goods. A customs application fixes the window in which suspect goods can be held without a separate court order first. Missing either date changes which remedy is still open, not merely how quickly it can be used.
What to do first
- Identify which right is actually affected — a registered mark, an unregistered sign in use, a design, or a brand name used as a domain.
- Write down every date already fixed: filing, publication, an opposition period, a customs seizure notice.
- Locate the registration or application number, if one exists.
- List every mark and class in the portfolio that touches the same brand, not just the one under threat.
- Check whether a third party has already filed a claim, an opposition, or a customs notice against you.
- Tell us the fact pattern, or open the situation page that matches it below.
Who decides
The EUIPO decides registration, opposition and cancellation for EU-wide marks. National offices decide national marks and designs. An appeal from an EUIPO decision goes first to the Boards of Appeal, then to the General Court of the EU. Customs authorities decide detention requests made under Regulation (EU) No 608/2013. A court decides infringement, validity and damages once a case is actually filed.
Which question, which page
| Situation | Where it is answered |
|---|---|
| A similar mark has been filed in your class | The situation page linked below, on what to check first |
| A competitor's design copies yours | Design-dispute pages within this practice |
| Goods bearing your mark are held at the border | Customs enforcement under Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 |
| A renewal calendar has fallen out of sync across the portfolio | Portfolio-audit pages within this practice |
| The dispute is actually about a patent | The patents and disputes practice |
| The conflict sits inside a licence or a SaaS contract | The technology contracts practice |
| The asset is a token, not a registered mark | The digital assets practice |
Forks
If a similar mark has already been filed in your class, the situation page below sets out what to check first and whom to notify.
If the underlying dispute is actually about a patent rather than a mark, a separate deadline and a separate forum apply.
If the conflict lives inside a contract — a licence, an assignment clause, a SaaS terms of service — the contract governs before the trade mark register does.
If you hold marks in several classes or several countries, the immediate decision is a portfolio audit, not a single filing.
If the asset in question is a token rather than a filed mark, the question belongs to a different practice entirely.
Where this crosses into other practices
Trade mark disputes sometimes turn out to be patent disputes running in parallel. Patent protection, disputes and recovery overview and the deadline sets out the separate procedure for that overlap.
Brand protection often depends on the contract underneath it — a licence, a manufacturing agreement, a SaaS terms of service. Technology contracts and outsourcing: the decisions this practice answers covers that layer.
Some brand assets are tokenised rather than filed as a registered mark. Token issuance and trading overview and the deadline explains where that question is actually decided.
Limit
This hub does not state what can be established for a specific asset in a specific country, and it does not state a fee. Asset in Lithuania in detail answers that question for Lithuania, built from the registry data behind that report.
Related reading
What to do first in this situation and who — open this page if a similar mark has already been filed in your class.
Verified
Verified: 4 March 2025. Sources: Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 (EUTMR); Regulation (EU) No 608/2013.
FAQ
What does this change in practice?
A filing date or a customs seizure date fixes which deadline and which remedy apply. Without a fixed date, the position stays provisional while a competitor's application or a customs notice runs.
Which deadline applies?
The deadline depends on the action itself — opposition, cancellation, or a customs application — and is set by whichever office or authority handles that specific matter. The page matching your situation, linked from this hub, states the deadline that applies to it.
What do you need from us to start?
The registration or application number, if one exists; the class or goods affected; and any notice you have already received from an office, a customs authority, or a third party.