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Renewing a CTM

A registered Community Trade Mark is valid for ten years from the date of filing of the application. It can be renewed indefinitely for further periods of ten years.

The process

  • No later than six months before the expiry of the registration OHIM will inform the proprietor, their representative or any other registered right holder(s), in writing, that the registration will be due for renewal.
  • A request for renewal must be submitted and the renewal fee must be paid within a period of six months before the expiry date and may be submitted until the last day of the month in which protection ends.
  • If no request has been filed in time, late renewal is still possible within an additional period of six months. The late request for renewal must be submitted and the renewal fee plus a 25% surcharge must be paid within this grace period which starts from the day following the last day of the month in which the trade mark was due for renewal.
  • If no request for renewal is submitted, or is submitted after expiry of the grace period, OHIM will inform the CTM proprietor in writing that the CTM has been cancelled and removed from the Register, and a notice will be published in the CTM Bulletin.

Should the CTM owner not agree with the cancellation of the CTM and removal from the Register due to non-renewal, it still has the possibility to request OHIM to issue a decision on the matter.

Conversion or renewal?
If you choose not to renew your CTM but would like to maintain your rights in certain Member States, you can file an application for conversion. This request must be filed within three months from the end of the additional period for renewal.

How to renew
You can either renew a CTM yourself or ask your representative to do it for you. The request can either be submitted online or by filing the paper form. The renewal tool will guide you through all steps and automatically calculate the required fee.

Please note that there is a reduction of 10% in the basic renewal fee for e-renewals.

OHIM will issue an official written communication of renewal to the CTM proprietor or its representative a few days after the actual expiration date of the CTM. The renewal will take effect from the day following the date on which the existing registration expires. The CTM Register will be updated and a notice will be published in the CTM Bulletin.

Partial renewal of a CTM
If you are filing a renewal via e-renewal or the paper form, you can indicate if you wish to renew the entire CTM or just partially renew the CTM by choosing to remove some classes.

Amendments to the goods and services
As part of the renewal request you can not only remove classes but also amend the list of goods and services. However, the amendments will be subject to examination and will only be accepted if they serve to restrict the scope of the goods and services. Amendments to the goods and services can only be applied for using the paper form.

Costs
The costs of renewals are:

  • basic renewal fee for an individual mark EUR 1500
  • e-renewal fee EUR 1350
  • fee for each class of goods and services exceeding three for an individual mark EUR 400
  • basic fee for the renewal for a collective mark EUR 3000
  • fee for each class of goods and services exceeding three for a collective mark EUR 800
  • late Renewal: 25% of renewal fee (maximum of EUR 1500)

If a CTM is not renewed
If a CTM is not renewed it will be marked as expired approximately two weeks after the end of the additional period. The cancellation however will be effective the day following the one on which the CTM expired. OHIM will inform the CTM proprietor in writing and The CTM will be cancelled from the Register.