Whether you want to oppose a later EU trade mark application or defend your own against an opposition, we represent you before the EUIPO and can take over proceedings already running.
When clients come to us
- You want to file an opposition against a published EU trade mark application.
- An opposition has been filed against your application and a reply is due.
- You want an authorised representative established in the EEA to take over or continue proceedings. A party with no seat, domicile or real establishment in the European Economic Area must in principle be represented before the EUIPO (Article 119(2) EUTMR); a lawyer qualified in an EEA State and established in the EEA can act (Article 120(1)(a) EUTMR).
- You want to clarify the language of proceedings and align your documents.
- You need a revocation or invalidity action, or a defence against one.
How an opposition proceeds (overview)
- Admissibility check by the EUIPO (time limit, fee, language, details of the earlier rights).
- Cooling-off period: the adversarial part opens two months after the Office’s notice that the opposition is admissible; if both parties ask before that period ends, it can be extended to a total of 24 months (Article 6 Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/625), for example for settlement talks.
- Substantiation and evidence by the opponent.
- Reply by the applicant; where relevant, a request for proof of use of the earlier mark (Article 47(2)–(3) EUTMR: evidence of genuine use in the five years before the filing or priority date, where the earlier mark has been registered for at least five years).
- Decision of the Opposition Division.
- Appeal to the Boards of Appeal: filed within two months of notification of the decision, with the statement of grounds within four months (Article 68(1) EUTMR).
An opposition must be filed within three months of publication of the EU trade mark application (Article 46(1) EUTMR). Specific time limits are in the Office’s notification. Send it to us, with its date, and we check the deadline.
The central test: likelihood of confusion
We assess similarity of the signs (visual, aural, conceptual), similarity of the goods and services, the distinctiveness of the earlier mark, the relevant public and the global assessment (Article 8(1)(b) EUTMR; the EUIPO Guidelines are helpful but not binding).
Language of proceedings
The EUIPO’s languages are English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. In an opposition, the language of proceedings is the language of the application or the second language named in it, unless the parties agree on another official language of the Union (Article 146(3), (5), (7) and (8) EUTMR). We clarify the language at the start and prepare drafts with you in English or German.
What we need from you
- File numbers of the application and the opposition
- The EUIPO notification, with its date
- Earlier submissions and evidence
- Information on use of your mark and the goods and services
Fees
Our fee is agreed according to the scope of the case. After reviewing the documents we send a proposal; Office fees are paid separately.
Overview: Trade mark law in Bulgaria and the EU.
Contact
Write to us or call: info@reguligence.com · +359 887 678 190. Please give the date of the latest EUIPO notification.
Last updated: October 2026