Leading law firm in Marbella informing about the key points of registering your trademark in Spain

Welex: your motivated law firm in Marbella!

If you want to register your trademark in Spain, we will show you the key points to do so and the steps you need to take to register your trademark successfully.

What is a trademark in Spain used for?

A trademark in Spain is a representative symbol that distinguishes your company from its competitors. It allows you to draw the attention of potential clients and be able to associate the product or service you offer to your trademark while simultaneously increasing your customers’ loyalty. Duly registering your trademark gives you the right of ownership to the exclusive use of the products or services associated with your trademark; it also provides you with legal protection should your competitors use your mark.

What does a Spanish commercial trademark consist of?

A trademark is understood to be a material sign, which can consist of:

• A word and/or combinations of words;
• Graphic representations, such as images, figures, shapes, symbols or drawings;
• Numbers and letters, or a combination of both;
• Sounds that are graphically represented (on a staff of music).

Not everything may be registered as a trademark. There are some prohibitions, such as generic names, names that describe products and services and names that are misleading or offensive. It is also possible to distinguish the commercial name from the trademark. The commercial name is the title a company uses to distinguish itself from other companies in the same sector.

Applying for your commercial trademark in Spain

The first step in applying for a commercial trademark is to make sure that it has not been registered yet under the same, or a similar, name. Conducting research on registered trademarks in Spain and abroad can save you money and time.

Once you have verified that your commercial trademark can be registered, we present the completed application to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM). The application must contain the following information:

• Identity of the applicant (either by electronic signature or by applying for a certificate on our name);
• Reproduction of the trademark;
• A list of the services or products for which you wish to register the trademark;
• Payment of the associated duties.

When is the trademark granted and for how long?

Submitting your application guarantees you provisional legal protection against any third parties that might want to use your trademark. If there is no objection due to similarity, the trademark will be granted approximately five months after the application is received, and it will be valid for 10 years with the possibility of renewing it for the same period of time.

Welex Lawyers & Accountants
C/ Ramón Gómez de la Serna 23, Local 7, Marbella Tel. (+34) 952 775 521 · info@welex.es · www.welex.es