Where to register a trademark

• In case you only trade in one European Union country, you will only need protection in that country. Contact your national Patent Office and register your trademark at the national level in this scenario.
• In case you only trade in Belgium, the Netherlands or Luxembourg, you should file your application at the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property(BOIP). A trademark registered with the BOIP will offer protection in these three countries.
• If you seek to protect your trademark in all EU countries, you should register your trademark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office(EUIPO).

If you wish to protect your trademark within the United Kingdom(within England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) then you will need to file your trademark application with the UK Intellectual Property Office(IPO).

After registering a UK trademark at the UK Intellectual Property Office, you may wish to extend the trademark into a country that is part of the European Union. You may do so by applying to the trademark office of any particular country. However, there also exists the European application system which is administered by the European Union Intellectual Property Office(EUIPO).

One can apply for a European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) through the European Union Intellectual Property Office(EUIPO) which has its headquarters in Alicante, Spain. It is possible to do so by filling an online application form from the EUIPO website or by filling it in manually. You are required to fill the form in one of the 23 official languages used in the EU. In addition, one must also choose a different second language from the 5 official languages used at EUIPO. In case of missing information or any other requirement, the EUIPO will contact you and require a response within the specified time frame.

If you plan to sell your goods or service in the US and wish to extend your protection to the US, you will have to register your trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office(USPTO). To ensure that your application with the USPTO is accepted, make sure that your trademark is actually registered in your country of origin. This will make your application stronger and ensure that you can secure your trademark in the United States even before you can actually start selling your products in the United States

If you wish to extend your trademark protection rights internationally, then you will need to register your trademark under the international trademark registration system. This international trademark registration system is called the Madrid system or Madrid Protocol. It is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Numerous trademark owners have realized that an International Trademark Registration filing is the ideal way to file trademarks in a foreign jurisdiction in a more cost-effective manner than directly filing with each foreign national trademark office.

In order to file an international application to extend your trademark, you must have already registered or applied for a mark in your home country.