Appeal
Who can file an appeal?
Anyone who is adversely affected by a decision can file an appeal.
Appealing a trade mark-related decision costs €720 and appealing a design-related decision costs €800.
Time-limit and form of an appeal
A distinction must be made between the Notice of appeal and the Statement of Grounds. Click on the text boxes below to find more information.
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Notification of contested decision
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2 months
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4 months
The Notice of appeal
After the contested decision has been notified, you have two months to file the notice of appeal. Additionally, the appeal fee must be paid and received by the Office within that two-month time-limit. As in any other proceedings before the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), if you wish to file an appeal, we recommend that you use the eAppeal online tool, which will help you avoid making errors that may result in the inadmissibility of the appeal.
Find out more about eAppeal here.
The Statement of Grounds
The statement of grounds shall expose the grounds of appeal, in facts and in law, which the appellant wishes to put forward in their appeal. It can be filed either with the notice of appeal or separately within four months after notification of the contested decision.
Both the notice of appeal and the statement of grounds must be filed in writing and must be in the language of proceedings or in the language in which the decision subject to an appeal was taken. They can be sent either by electronic means, by normal postal mail or courier service.
First instance revision
Once the Statement of Grounds is received, the Registry of the Boards submits the Appeal (Notice of Appeal and Statement of Grounds) in the first instance. In ex parte cases, i.e. cases that involve only one party, the department whose decision is contested will correct its decision if it considers the appeal acceptable and well-founded; if it does not consider the appeal acceptable or well-founded, the case will be sent back to the Boards of Appeal.
Following the entry into force of the EU trade mark regulation, interlocutory revision is no longer performed in inter partes cases.
Ex-Parte Cases
Once the interlocutory revision is done in an ex parte case, the file is immediately submitted to the Chairperson of the competent Board who will designate a rapporteur.
Inter-Parte Cases
In inter partes cases there is a slightly different procedure. In accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal, after the reception of the statement of grounds, the respondent is allowed to file observations. After a response is filed, the Board may authorise further submissions by the parties (reply/rejoinder).
After the written part of the proceedings, the file is submitted to the Chairperson of the competent Board, who will designate a rapporteur.
In both types of proceedings, if the rapporteur considers it worthwhile, he or she will contact the party/ies to clarify any important questions regarding the appeal. Otherwise, a decision will be drafted and deliberated by the Board. Once the Boards of Appeal has taken a decision, it will be notified to the parties.
General Court
The Boards' decisions may be subject to an appeal, within two months from the notification of the decision, before the General Court. The grounds for such appeals are laid down in Article 72(2) of the European Union trade mark regulation and Article 61(2) of the registered Community design regulation.
All judgments of the General Court may be appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
