How to Obtain Trademark Protection in Romania?

“I would like to protect my brand name and logo. How can I achieve this?” – asks our reader.

If you have a marketable idea and do not want others to exploit it, do not hesitate, as this could lead to serious financial damage if you do not take care of its protection. Building a brand takes time; do not let others deprive you of the deserved moral and financial recognition.

A trademark is a clear and accurately represented registered designation used to identify individual goods and services and distinguish them from those of others.

In everyday language, terms like brand, brand name, brand, and logo are often used instead of the legal term trademark, which is more of an economic concept.

According to representation, a brand can be verbal if it includes a name written in standard characters, figurative if it is an image without letters or numbers, combined if it contains special characters, possibly colors or a name and image, and it can also be three-dimensional if it represents the shape of a product or its packaging.

A trademark application can be submitted electronically at www.osim.ro or by mail by filling out the form on paper.

Only designations capable of distinguishing can fulfill the trademark function. To ensure that our designation is not identical or confusingly similar to other earlier trademarks, it is advisable to check the database of registered trademarks before submitting the application.

The application can be submitted by a natural or legal person, either in person or through a representative professional. However, there is no reason for concern; in all cases, the person listed as the applicant will be the owner of the trademark. The application must include the applicant’s details, the designation and its type, and the goods and services for which protection is sought. The Nice Classification includes all the products and services for which trademark protection can be requested.

The application must be accompanied by the receipt proving the payment of the submission fee (48 lei) and the publication fee, which is 143 lei for black-and-white trademarks and 475 lei for color trademarks. An opposition against the registration application can be submitted within 2 months from the publication in the Official Bulletin of Intellectual Property Rights. The fee for substantive examination depends on the type of trademark (523 – 1046 lei) and the number of designated goods and services, with an additional charge of 238 lei for each added class. The office will substantively examine the application within 6 months from the publication, and if it meets the legal requirements, the trademark will be registered. Trademark protection arises from registration but always has a retroactive effect to the date of filing.

In Romania, the average registration period is around 9 months, and in cases of requesting additional documentation, it may take longer.

The protection period of a registered trademark is 10 years from the date of registration of the application. The protection can be renewed for an additional 10-year period without limitation. The trademark is protected in the country where the registration took place and can be requested at national, EU, or international levels.