EUIPO Fast Track

The legal framework

An EU trade mark application goes through several stages at the EUIPO under Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 (EUTMR): filing, examination of formalities and classification, examination of absolute grounds, publication, a period for opposition and, if all goes well, registration. The legal stages and time limits come from the Regulation. The speed with which the office completes its own examination is, within those limits, an organisational matter.

Fast Track is an EUIPO procedure that shortens the office's examination for applications that meet certain conditions. It does not alter the law. The conditions are published by the office and may be adjusted, so the current EUIPO guidance is the reference.

The central condition is the wording of the goods and services. Fast Track is available when the specification is made up only of terms taken from the EUIPO's harmonised database of goods and services (also searchable through TMclass), without free text. Those terms have been agreed with the national offices and are accepted without questions on clarity and classification. That is why the office can handle the application faster: the part of examination that takes time, assessing the wording of the specification, falls away. Further conditions apply, for instance that the application has no formal irregularities; the office's guidance has the details.

In practice

What Fast Track changes

It shortens the time before the office completes its examination and, if there are no objections, publishes the application. We do not quote a figure: the timing is the office's, it can change, and it is set out in the EUIPO's own guidance.

What it does not change

Several things stay as they are.

• Absolute grounds. The office still examines whether the sign can be registered. A descriptive or non-distinctive mark gets an objection under Article 7 EUTMR whether the application is on Fast Track or not.
• The opposition period. After publication, the three-month opposition period under Article 46 EUTMR runs as usual. Fast Track gets you to publication earlier, and so the opposition window also opens and closes earlier, but it is not shortened.
• Earlier rights. Fast Track does not check whether an earlier mark exists. Only a clearance search does that, which is why we recommend running one first. A quick registration of a mark that someone then opposes or invalidates has not saved you anything.
• The need to check conditions. The conditions for Fast Track and the fees are set by the EUIPO and can change. Check the current EUIPO guidance and fee schedule before filing.

The cost of harmonised wording

The restriction to harmonised terms has a price. The database is large, but it cannot always describe a new product or a niche service in the way you would prefer. If the harmonised list forces you to either leave out part of your activity or accept a vaguer description, the speed gain may not be worth it. Equally, a tailored specification protects more precisely and may be easier to defend against a use challenge after five years. The Nice classification explains why wording defines the scope of protection.

Consider a Hasselt company launching an oat-based drink under a new name. Its goods fit harmonised terms in class 32 without difficulty ("non-alcoholic beverages", "oat-based beverages" if the database offers a matching term, and so on). Its launch date is fixed, a retail listing depends on a pending application, and the clearance has come back clean. Fast Track is a sensible choice. A second company, which develops an unusual measurement device, finds that no harmonised term describes it. It chooses a custom description and accepts the standard route, because a precise specification matters more to it than a few weeks.

Our filing technology takes goods and services from the harmonised terms for EUIPO applications, and the attorney decides in each case whether a custom term is worth leaving Fast Track for. Costs by route are shown by the IP cost estimator.

Frequently asked questions

Does Fast Track guarantee registration?

No. It speeds up the examination only. Objections on absolute grounds and oppositions by third parties remain possible.

Can I use Fast Track with a custom description?

Not for that application. Wording outside the harmonised database means the application is examined in the ordinary way.

Does it shorten the opposition period?

No. The opposition period runs three months from publication.

Is it worth it for every application?

No. It helps when speed matters and the harmonised wording is adequate. When the precise scope of protection matters more, a tailored specification is usually the better choice.

How this connects

Trademark registration includes the choice of route and wording, with our filing technology selecting goods and services and the IP cost estimator showing the cost. Once the mark is registered, the portfolio and renewals technology follows its dates.