Do you have a trademark and haven’t registered it yet? Trademark registration in Spain is important for several reasons: if you don’t register it, another company can use it, if someone else registers it, you could be forced to stop using it. In this post we want to talk to you about what a trademark is, why it is important to register it, what steps you have to follow for trademark registration and how long the protection lasts.
There are many cases in the business world in which a registered trademark has been recovered due to a complaint from another company or an entrepreneur. In Spain, the cases of Bimbo and Panrico with the name Donuts or that of the oil brands La Española and Carbonell because the labels on the bottles were confused are well known.
What is a trademark and why is it important to protect it?
A trademark is an industrial property title that grants its owner the right to act against third parties who copy, counterfeit, manufacture, import or sell the goods or services covered by that trademark without his consent.
A trademark can be a word, a package, a colour or a sound, among other elements.
Trademark registration, therefore, provides protection in several senses:
- In a positive sense because the owner of the mark can use, transfer or assign it.
- In a negative sense, because the trademark owner can prevent a third party from using it.
If you do not register your trademark, a third party may use it and take advantage of your reputation and all the work you have done. This can be aggravated if that third party registers the trademark, because it could mean that you could be prevented from using it and have to change your shop sign, stationery and start from scratch to build your brand image.
How do I register a trademark in Spain?
Trademark registration in Spain is done at the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO) and the following steps must be followed:
- The first thing you will have to do is check in the trademark locator of the SPTO if there is a similar trademark to the one you are trying to register that could prevent you from registering yours.
- Next, you will have to access the ‘@Sede Electrónica’ button that appears on the SPTO website and access the trademark and trade name application section.
- In the application you must include your details, the details of the trademark, the products or services for which you want to register the trademark. You must also attach the requested documentation. For example, if you are acting as a representative of a company, you must provide a power of attorney. It is important to highlight three aspects when registering your trade mark:
- The territory in which you want the trademark to be protected (national, European Union or international).
- Type of mark. It can be, as we have seen, a denomination, a graphic, a mixed mark, a smell or a sound.
- The type of trade mark. Trade marks are divided into product and service marks.
- Finally, you will have to review the application, pay the fee and download the proof of filing.
Trademark and patent registration can also be done in person at the SPTO or at the Regional Industrial Property Information Centres. In the case of making the application through the Electronic Headquarters, you will receive a 15% discount.
How much does it cost to register a trademark and how long does the protection last?
Trademark protection lasts for 10 years from the date of application, but can be extended indefinitely if it is renewed and the renewal is paid for. Otherwise, the trademark protection disappears.
The cost of the trademark depends on the number of ‘classes’ applied for. In Spain the application fee is usually around 150 euros for the first class. There are 45 classes divided into classes of goods and classes of services.
The protection of the Spanish trademark is limited to the Spanish territory, but if you want to protect the trademark in the European Union you can register it as a European trademark. If you want international protection for your trademark, you will have to register it as an international trademark, but to do so you must have a national or European Union trademark.
Many entrepreneurs, when starting their business or launching a new product or service, focus on attracting customers and forget to protect the brand. They invest a lot of time in marketing strategies that require a lot of time, effort and money, which could come to nothing if the trademark is not registered. For the registration of trademarks in Spain, you can count on the help of a Spanish business consultancy to carry out all the formalities so that there are no mistakes and to prevent another company from opposing the registration.
