Nobody is going to warn you. Except us
When somebody files a mark similar to yours, an opposition window opens and runs whether you notice or not. Watching exists so that you notice.
A trademark does not defend itself
Holding a granted trademark does not stop somebody else applying for a similar one. What the register gives you is the right to oppose, but that right has an expiry date: it is exercised within the window that opens on publication of the application, and that window runs whether you have noticed or not.
The office does not warn you. It publishes the application in its bulletin, opens the period and moves on. If nobody opposes, it grants. From that moment the cheap, fast route is closed: bringing down a granted mark means an invalidity action, which takes longer, costs considerably more and does not always succeed.
On top of that comes a front that passes through no office at all: use of your mark online. Shops selling counterfeits under your name, domains reproducing your sign, profiles and ad campaigns passing themselves off as you. No registry watch picks that up, because nobody has filed anything.
Two different watches
Registry watch
- Applications identical to your mark
- Similar signs in related classes
- National, European Union or worldwide coverage
- Alert in time to file an opposition
- Drafting and filing of the opposition if you decide to act
Protect your brand online
- Use of your mark in shops and marketplaces
- Sale of counterfeit goods under your name
- Domains reproducing or imitating your sign
- Profiles and adverts impersonating you
- Claims and takedown of the uses detected
How it works
Define what to watch
Which marks, in which classes and in which territories. The tighter the scope, the less noise and the more signal.
We track publications
We review the offices’ bulletins as they are published, looking for relevant matches and similarities.
We alert you with judgement
We do not send a raw list: we tell you what we found, whether it poses a real risk and how long you have to react.
We act if needed
If you decide to oppose, we draft and file the submission. If the conflict is online, we claim the takedown of the use.
The cost of finding out late
Opposing within the window is a contained procedure, with predictable cost and a reasonable chance of success where the similarity is clear. Acting afterwards, against a granted mark, means an invalidity action: slower, more expensive, and with the burden of proof in a worse position. The difference between the two is often just two months of not having noticed.
Frequently asked questions
Will the office not tell me if someone registers something similar to my mark?
No. Neither the Spanish office nor the EUIPO notifies the owner of an earlier mark that a similar application has been published: they assume you are watching. Publication opens an opposition window and, if it passes without anyone objecting, the mark is granted. After that no opposition is possible: only an invalidity action, which is slower and considerably more expensive.
How long do I have to oppose?
The period runs from publication of the application: two months in Spain and three in the European Union. It sounds generous, but it includes finding out, assessing whether it is worth acting, deciding and preparing the submission. Whoever finds out in the final month works in a rush; whoever does not find out, does not find out.
What happens if I let a similar mark through?
Two things, neither good. The first is obvious: you coexist with a similar sign in your sector. The second is less known and more serious: prolonged tolerance of a known use can weaken your position to react later. A trademark that is not defended gradually loses its capacity to be defended.
What does worldwide watching cover?
Publications of applications in national registers, at the EUIPO and in the WIPO international system, according to the scope you contract. We pick up both identical signs and similar ones in related classes, which are the ones that really matter: nobody registers your exact mark — they register something close enough to trade on it.
Is online use watched the same way?
It is a separate front, which is why there is a separate service. What gets detected there is not applications but uses: shops selling counterfeits under your name, domains reproducing your mark, profiles and adverts passing themselves off as you. None of that goes through a trademark office, so no registry watch will ever find it.
What does it cost?
National watching is free for trademarks whose file we handle, whether because we registered them or because we have entered the file as representatives. For wider scopes — a specific country, the European Union or worldwide watching — the price depends on the number of classes, the territories and the portfolio you want covered. Tell us which mark it is and how far you want to go, and we will send a fixed quote. Online watching is quoted separately, since its scope works differently: it does not depend on classes or territories but on how many channels are monitored and how often.
Tell us which trademark to watch
With the file number and the territories you care about we will send you the scope and price of the watch.