Fast Track conditions
At the European Union Intellectual Property Office (the EUIPO) we offer our trade mark applicants the opportunity for their applications to be examined and published faster when compliant with Fast Track conditions.
When the EUIPO receives an application, our staff examines it to assess whether it is likely to be a valid trade mark. The more complex the application, the more time it takes for our staff to examine it. This is why applications received by the EUIPO that comply with certain conditions will be treated more swiftly and will be faster to reach the first step in the registration process, the publication of the application. We call this accelerated procedure Fast Track.
What are its advantages?
- It is faster. Your application can be published in half of the time or less compared to regular applications
- It is safer. A Fast Track application requires that you select your goods and services from a database of terms already accepted by the EUIPO and by all IP offices in the EU, known as the Harmonised Database (HDB). This greatly reduces any deficiencies, so you can be sure you are making the right choices
For more information on our service standards, check out the EUIPO’s Service Charter on our quality page.
How do I comply with Fast Track conditions?
There are two main conditions for a Fast Track application to be successful:
- You need to select the goods and services your trade mark will apply to from a database of terms that have already been accepted by the EUIPO. The Five-step form is designed to guide you in your choice so that your application can be processed under Fast Track
- You need to pay upfront: our examiners can only start examining your application once payment is complete. Subject to prompt payment and provided there are no deficiencies at the moment of filing or during examination of the application, your application will proceed via Fast Track.
If you are paying via current account, please note your account will be debited immediately. If you are paying via bank transfer, you must make the transfer immediately after submitting the application.
Although some applications may comply with the conditions of Fast Track at the time of filing, they could be lost later on. For example, there could be a deficiency, in that the trade mark you would like to register is not distinctive enough. If your application loses any Fast Track conditions, you will be informed in writing.
Fast Track: Full conditions
- The applicant must be domiciled in the European Economic Area (EEA). Failing this, the applicant must identify a valid representative
- The trade mark should not be either a collective mark or a certification mark
- Do not request a national or European search in your application
- Regarding priority or seniority claims, either:
- there should be no priority / seniority claims, or
- if a priority / seniority claim is indicated, the trade marks on which the claim is based can be imported from the TMview database during the application process, or
- if a priority / seniority claim is indicated and the associated trade mark(s) are not in TMView, the corresponding certificate must be attached
- If exhibition priority is claimed, a Fast Track application is still possible provided an attachment containing the corresponding certificate is submitted
- The trade mark must be one of the following types: word / figurative / shape / sound
- If the trade mark is a figurative / shape mark, colour claims are no longer possible
- If the trade mark is a figurative / shape / sound mark, the relevant and valid attachments must be included
- All the terms in the list of goods and services must be selected from the database of terms already accepted by the EUIPO
- Payment should be made via any of the accepted payment methods. However, payment via a third party’s current account is not permissible with Fast Track
- The following conditions apply with regard to the payment of fees:
- Credit card: no particular requirement
- For bank transfers: the applicant must (1) use the Payment Transaction Code generated by the form and the trade mark number to identify the file; (2) undertake to transfer the amount immediately; and (3) preferably make a separate payment for each application submitted
- For current account holders the applicant must select Debit now on the payment form
- When the language of the application is not one of EUIPO’s five languages (English, French, German, Italian and Spanish), the applicant must accept the translation provided by the EUIPO in a second language selected from one of the accepted five languages
Note: payments via bank transfer, bearing their corresponding transaction code, must reach the EUIPO within nine days of filing the application. Failure to do so will mean that the EUIPO is unable to guarantee Fast Track timeliness standards.
All time limit references are for illustrative purposes and do not have a binding effect for the Office.