Does Your US Brand Need an EU Trade Mark?
A short answer for US brands heading to Europe — when an EUTM is worth it, and where to find the full step-by-step filing hub.
Planning a European filing from the US? Get a fixed-fee estimate and a filing timeline before your deadline.
Direct reply from a European Patent Attorney — usually within one business day.
Short answer: if you are selling, franchising, licensing or distributing in Europe, yes. Your US registration gives you nothing in the EU, and Europe is first-to-file with almost no unregistered protection — so the brand you have built in the US can be legitimately claimed there by someone else before you launch.
One application at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) covers all 27 member states. That is far more efficient than national filings, but the right is unitary: it stands or falls as one registration, so a single earlier right in one country can defeat the whole application. Clearance before filing is what protects the launch.
The three things that decide the outcome are clearance, class drafting and timing. Get a search done across EUTMs and national registers, translate your US specification into narrower EU wording rather than copying it, and file before any public announcement of the European launch.
The full detail now lives in one place: the EU trade mark filing hub covers the seven-step EUIPO process, the official 2026 fee table, a filing-to-registration timeline, the refusals that most often stop US applications, and what changes when you come from USPTO practice.
¹ For direct EU filing support across all member states, see Bauer IP — European Patent & Trademark Law Firm.
EU trade mark hub
File your EU trade mark the right way
Step-by-step EUIPO process, official fees, timeline and the common refusals — written for US brands entering Europe.
Need advice on this topic?
If you are planning European expansion, I can help you align patent, trade mark and timing strategy before launch.