Guidance

Conditions and registration of the application

The beneficiary of a registered trademark may be declared revoked of their right, for the whole or part of the products or services for which the trademark is registered, provided that:

• the beneficiary has not made substantial use of the trademark or has interrupted its use, in relation to all products or services, for a period of five (5) consecutive years;
• the trademark, or the normal commercial name of the product or service, has become genericized, due to their behaviour or inactivity;
• the mark, due its use by the beneficiary or by their consent, became misleading to the public, particularly as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of the products or services for which it is registered;
• in case of collective or certification trademark:
  • whose beneficiary has not taken reasonable steps to prevent the use of trademark which is not in accordance with the terms of use;
  • whose use entails the misleading of the public, in relation to the trademark character or meaning; or
  • for which an amendment of the regulation of trademark use has been noted in the trademark register in breach of the Trademarks Law.

It is noted that no revocation arises when the trademark beneficiary proves that:

• there is reasonable cause for no substantial use;
• they have commenced or repeated substantial use during the period between the expiry of the five-year period of non-use and the submission of revocation application. In case of commencing or repeating use within three (3) months before the submission of revocation application, and provided that the beneficiary has become aware of the possibility of submission of application for declaration of revocation, the said use is not taken into account.

Filing of the application for declaration of revocation

The application for declaration of revocation (form Ε.Σ.23) is submitted to the Intellectual Property Section, either through the trademark's e-filing system or by hand / post, accompanied by relevant evidence documents and the fee of three hundred and forty eight euros (€348).

Depending on how you submit the request, the fees can be paid:

• by credit card (for e-filing submission);
• in cash, by cheque, via an account maintained with the Department of the Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property or via bank transfer (for submissions by hand/ post).

In case where the conditions for the filing of application are not met, the Section informs you accordingly to make the neccessary corrections within two (2) months. In case of no timely compliance, the application for declaration of revocation is rejected.

To obtain access and use the e-filing system, you must first register to the trademark's e-filing system, if you are not already registered.

e-filing