As the name indicates, the registration of an EU trademark is a collective registration comprising all EU countries.

The application is considered by a central authority, namely The Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM), which has its office in Alicante, Spain. However, the trademark authorities of the individual countries might also choose to investigate whether there are any earlier registrations identical to or liable to be confused with the later mark in their respective territories. If earlier registrations do exist, the conclusion may be that the application should be withdrawn in order not to infringe earlier rights.

An EU application means great savings compared to individual applications filed in the different countries. The EU application will probably work out more cost effective if registration is wanted in more than 3 EU countries.

Like other trademarks, the EU trademark must be renewed every 10 years. However, a renewal of an EU trademark will be much cheaper than renewing the same trademark in multiple EU countries.

In most countries a trademark must be used in order to ensure that the registration will not be invalidated. Normally use of the trademark must not be suspended for an uninterrupted period of more than 5 years. As far an EU registration is concerned, it is not required that the trademark is used in all EU countries. Use in one EU country will be sufficient.