Trademark registration in Hungary and in the EU

Where to register my trademark?

You can register trademark either for Hungary or for the European Union. In either case, the procedure is quite lengthy, as it takes 8-12 months. In Hungary the responsible authority is the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (Szellemi Tulajdon Nemzeti Hivatala, SzTNH), while in the EU it is the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

The process can be started by a lawyer expert in trademark registration. They will supervise the procedure as your main point of contact, acting as an intermediary between you and the authorities. For this, you need to give your authorization to your lawyer, signing a POA either in person or attested at any Hungarian consulate in your country.

How to start the trademark registration procedure?

First, you need to decide what you want protected in the trademark registration. You can simply submit your company name or your slogan. If you want to submit your logo, you have to attach a color picture of it (in PDF format, size between 5×5 and 10×12 cm).

Trademarks are classified based on whether they refer to goods or services. There are 45 categories altogether, and you have to decide in which you want to submit your application.

E.g. You are selling IT consultation. You have designed a nice logo for your company. However, there are only so many ways to design a logo, and it is similar to the logo of another trademarked brand.

• If the other brand is also selling IT
  consultation, you must come up with another logo.
• If the other brand is selling fish (so not
  a service but goods, something completely unrelated to your field of
  operation), your logo will most probably be accepted.

Checking your submission against competitors

Before submitting your application, you should consult your lawyer on which category you should submit your application in, and your lawyer will make a preliminary check to see if there are any other companies that have the same name, logo, or slogan. If they find a match, you will have to reconsider your application or make a new design.

Once your application is submitted, the authorities check various factors to see if it is fit for trademark registration. This will take at least 2-3 months.

• Are there any distinctive characteristics that are similar enough to another trademark to cause confusion?
• Are there any spelling or design errors in the application?
• Are there any grounds for refusal? (E.g. if the logo or slogan is indecent or offensive.)

If all is fine at this point, you get a report that also contains reference to any already registered trademark similar to your application. You can decide whether you want to go forward with the procedure, or, in case there is a trademark that is too similar to your application, withdraw it to avoid legal disputes.

Trademark appeal period

If you proceed with the application, authorities publish your submission in the official gazette for proposed trademarks. This gives other trademark owners a chance to file an appeal against your trademark application e.g. if they think it is too similar to their existing trademark.

If no one objects to your trademark application in 3 months, it will be registered. This is done retroactively, with the day of submission as a starting date.

Interested? Start the trademark registration now!

Our experienced team can assist you with all aspects of setting up and operating a company in Hungary. This includes trademark registration, which will be handled by our trusted expert lawyer. Do you want to start the procedure? Just fill in the form below and let us know!