Trademarks are highly specific, in the sense that your mark will only apply to the type or "class" of goods or services for which you seek protection. Third parties will be able to use your mark for products or services that differ from yours. For example, the word "Delta" can be a trademark of both a dairy company and an airline.

The trademark application should also specify the goods and/or services that your trademark will cover. Products and services are divided into 'classes'.

Classes are product or service categories into which trademarks are classified. Goods and services are divided internationally into 45 categories, trade classes. In positions 1-35 we find the goods, while from 36-45 the services are categorized. Depending on the categories a mark covers, it is filed and registered in the corresponding trade classes, whether it concerns a general company mark or a specific product mark.

The process of classifying the products/services that will distinguish the mark into classes as well as the wording thereof is of decisive importance for the protection of a mark and needs attention and consultation. It is also important to foresee your future activities, as no additions are allowed after the application for trademark registration has been filed.

Therefore, if you decide in the future to expand to another class that you did not foresee when filing, you will need to file a new mark for that new class.

Step 1: Identify your brand 

Choose the format of your mark (verbal, graphic, etc.). Identify the exact products and services that will distinguish your brand. 

Step 2: Availability check (Optional stage)

Once you've chosen your brand, and the products or services it will distinguish, some research should be done. The search is carried out in the Trademark Registries in order to determine whether similar marks for the products or services you wish to register with your mark are already registered by third parties.

Step 3: Submission of your application before the Industrial Property Organization OBI)

Step 4: Wait for OBI approval

You will receive notification of either approval or rejection of the trademark application. The Trademark Service checks whether the declaration meets the formal conditions and then a competent examiner checks the trademark for reasons of absolute inadmissibility and issues his decision regarding the acceptance or rejection of the declaration. 

If, after examination, all conditions for acceptance of the trademark application are met, then the application is accepted and the relevant decision is published on the OBI website. From the date of the publication of acceptance of the trademark and for the period of the following three months, a third party may file an objection against the trademark. If there is no opposition or if the opposition is resolved in your favor, your mark will be registered

Step 5: Renew your badge

After registration, the protection of a trademark has a duration of 10 years and this period of protection starts from the day following the date on which the trademark was filed. Six months before the end of the decade, the owner of the trademark is given the opportunity to renew it for another decade. The term of protection of a trademark is unlimited as it is renewed every ten years.

Once you start using your trademark, you should focus on your strategy for defending it:

• You must use your mark as filed. It is important to know that when a trademark is not used for a continuous period of 5 years from the date of its registration, it can be deleted from the trademark register. The deletion of the trademark can be requested by any third party, without even having to have a legal interest.
• Be alert for potential tampering or tampering. The existence of your own mark in the trade mark register does not imply the automatic rejection of a subsequent similar/same mark as yours.
• Take action against those who do not respect your trademark rights.

The new Law on Trademarks (4679/2020) abolishes official control for previous similar trademarks. However, anyone who owns a similar or similar trade mark, which has previously been registered in the trade mark register and distinguishes similar or similar goods or services, has the right to file an opposition against the acceptance of the new trade mark.

The risk of inadvertent violation of third party rights is always present in the creative process. When designing a new corporate identity, brand, logo or domain name, both the trademark owners and the agencies undertaking the creation of the mark must conduct appropriate investigations to ensure that they are free to use/register. 

Failure to do so can result in an unwanted dispute that can result in damages, legal fees, significant administrative time, a troublesome withdrawal of the infringing trademark, and then starting the trademark process all over again. . 

This risk is avoided for the customer by performing a legal pre-check on the TMView community database to determine the availability of the mark before submitting the application.

The importance of the research every quarter also concerns the owners of earlier marks in order to monitor the register for possible filings of a similar or similar mark to theirs, in similar or similar classes. 

If the search shows an identical or similar mark within the quarter of its publication, the client can file an opposition to prevent it from being registered due to similarity with his own earlier mark.

To protect your trademark from infringement and misrepresentation, you must be vigilant that your mark is not used by others and you must prosecute those who use your mark without permission. By doing research, you can develop a strong brand or service mark that other competitors will find difficult to copy.