Guides · euipo · updated 2026-09-02

Opposing an EU trade mark application at the EUIPO: the three-month window

An EU trade mark application is published a few weeks after filing and can then be opposed for exactly three months. Miss the window and the mark registers across all 27 member states; the only route left is an invalidity action at twice the fee. The register does not tell you. EUIPO eSearch shows the publication date and the live status, and TakedownGPT reads it every day and works out the deadline.

Which earlier rights count

The EUIPO opposes an application on relative grounds only against an earlier EU trade mark, a national mark in a member state, an international registration designating either, a well-known mark, or a non-registered sign used in trade of more than local significance under national law. A US registration is none of these. If your only registration is American, file an EU application now: once it registers, its filing date still beats a later applicant, and it is the right you will oppose with next time.

The window

Three months from the publication date in the EUTM Bulletin, no extension. Every hit from TakedownGPT carries the publication date and the deadline three months on. A notice of opposition is filed online through the EUIPO User Area for EUR 320, naming the earlier right, the goods relied on and the ground -- usually likelihood of confusion, art. 8(1)(b).

Classes decide whether it is worth it

A mark is a right for particular goods. If the application names unrelated classes, the opposition fails unless your mark has a reputation. Check the classes first; TakedownGPT shows them on every EUIPO hit and scores unrelated classes down.

Cooling-off

Once the opposition is admissible both parties get two months, extendable to twenty-four, before the adversarial part begins. Most oppositions end here with a withdrawal, a limitation of the goods, or a coexistence agreement. The prepared brief gives you the facts to open that conversation.

After registration

An application for a declaration of invalidity, EUR 630, on the same grounds. Do not wait: five years of knowing, tolerated use bars the claim.

The steps, in order

Check the stage on eSearch — The status is "Application filed", "Application published", "Registered" or one of the refusals. The three-month opposition period starts on the publication date shown in the record. euipo.europa.eu
Check that you hold an earlier right the EUIPO recognises — An earlier EU trade mark, a national mark in an EU member state, an international registration designating either, or a non-registered mark used in trade of more than local significance. A US or UK registration on its own does not count. If you have no EU filing, file one now: the application date still beats a later filer once it registers.
Published: file the opposition online — Through the EUIPO User Area within three months of publication, EUR 320. State the earlier right(s), the goods and services relied on and the ground (art. 8(1)(b), likelihood of confusion). The deadline cannot be extended. euipo.europa.eu
Use the cooling-off period — After admissibility both sides get two months (extendable to 24) to settle before the adversarial part starts. A coexistence agreement or a limitation of the goods is the usual outcome.
Registered: apply for a declaration of invalidity — Same grounds as an opposition, filed after registration, EUR 630. Do not sit on it: five years of knowing, tolerated use bars the claim (acquiescence). www.euipo.europa.eu
Keep watching the number — Add the EUTM application number to the watch's own filing numbers so the publication and registration events land in the inbox with the date.

Typical turnaround: Opposition: admissibility in weeks, cooling-off two months (often extended), decision 12-18 months if it does not settle. Invalidity: similar.

What the form asks for

The contested EUTM application number
Your earlier right(s): number, office, filing date, goods and services relied on
Ground: art. 8(1)(b) EUTMR, likelihood of confusion (art. 8(5) if your mark has a reputation)
Representation details: a professional representative is required if you are not established in the EEA

Evidence worth attaching

Your EU or member-state registration certificate, or eSearch / national record
Dated proof of your use in the EU: store listings by storefront, your EU sales or downloads
The contested application's eSearch record
Side-by-side of the two marks and the goods they name

Pitfalls

Relying on a US registration. The EUIPO does not treat it as an earlier right; you need an EU or member-state right, or provable non-registered use in an EU state.
Missing the three-month window. There is no extension and no threatened-opposition form as in the UK.
Filing observations instead of an opposition. Observations cannot raise your earlier mark.
Skipping the representative. Applicants outside the EEA must act through a professional representative in inter partes proceedings.

Open the EUIPO form ↗