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The Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) have recently announced that as from 1 May 2009, the registration process for a Community Trade Mark (CTM), which covers all 27 Member States of the European Community, will be streamlined for more efficiency and the official OHIM fees that a trade mark applicant must pay are to be reduced by 40%.

As of 1 May 2009, OHIM will be replacing the old ‘two stage’ fee process with a single fee payable at the time of filing and covering the filing, prosecution and registration of the trade mark. The following table will provide you with a comparison of the old and new fee (as from 1 May 2009)*:

If you have recently applied for a CTM and have already paid the 1st stage filing fee, OHIM have confirmed that the applicants of those CTM applications which are currently still pending (ie. awaiting examination or publication) are unlikely to have to pay the 2nd stage registration fee between now and 1 May 2009.

In addition to the reduction of fees in respect of CTM applications, OHIM also announced that the fee for International trade mark applications and registrations (governed by WIPO under the Madrid Protocol) designating the European Community will be reduced from €1,450 to €870.

In light of the current global economic environment, these announcements could not have come at a better time and the aim is to make the whole process a lot more affordable for small to medium businesses.

If you have a trade mark which you would like to register and protect and would like to take advantage of this substantial reduction in fees, or, if you require further information or professional advice on applying for a Community or International trade mark, please get in touch with us.

*please note that our professional fees are excluded from this table; also the exchange rate applicable on 23 April 2009 was used for conversion