Trademark registration in Cyprus

A trademark is a valuable corporate intellectual property asset. Based on it, buyers can distinguish goods or services from different suppliers. In Cyprus, individuals and companies, including foreign ones, can apply for trademark registration, so a mark can be held by a person or by a Cyprus company. It is one of the intellectual property rights protected in Cyprus.

What is a trademark in terms of Cypriot law?

Trademark registration in Cyprus runs on the Trade Marks Law, Cap. 268, and the Trade Marks Regulations made under it. Cap. 268 was rewritten by Law 63(I)/2020, in force from 12 June 2020, which brought Cyprus into line with EU Directive 2015/2436, and amended again by Law 107(I)/2021.

The register is kept by the Intellectual Property Section of the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property (DRCOR), which sits under the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry.

An EU trademark filed at the EU Intellectual Property Office under Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 covers Cyprus too. A separate statute, Law 61(I)/2018, lets customs stop goods that infringe an intellectual property right at the border, which matters after registration rather than during it.

Section 4 of the Trade Marks Law says a mark may consist of any sign. The list it gives is:

• words, including people's names;
• designs, letters and numerals;
• colours;
• the shape of the product or its packaging;
• sounds.

The sign has to do two things. It has to tell your goods or services apart from everyone else's, and it has to be capable of being shown on the register clearly and precisely enough for the authorities and the public to see what is protected.

A trademark can be a single form or a combination of symbols. Its primary purpose is to mark a product or service. A trademark is a valuable commercial asset that can be transferred, sold, or assigned to a new owner.

A trademark does not protect how a product looks or how it works. Appearance is covered by industrial designs under the Legal Protection of Industrial Designs and Models Law 4(I)/2002, and inventions by patents under the Patents Law 16(I)/1998. Each right has its own register and its own application.

A trademark is protected only in the jurisdiction where it is registered. A Cyprus registration covers Cyprus, and protecting the same mark abroad takes a separate filing. The two routes are set out under protecting your trademark outside Cyprus.

Types of trademarks

The Intellectual Property Section registers twelve types of mark, and you tick one on form E.S. 02:

• Word mark: contains words, letters, or digits in a standard font in the form of a layout without typographic or coloured elements. For example, the trademarks of "Phillips" or "Sony".
• Figurative mark: contains non-standard symbols, stylistic font or layout, graphic elements, or colour. These marks can consist solely of visual or graphic elements or represent a combination of verbal and graphic symbols. For example, the trademark of "Lacoste".
• Three-dimensional mark: a three-dimensional object, which usually shows the shape, container, or packaging of the product. For example, a signature bottle of Coca-Cola is a trademark.
• Position mark: characterised by a particular way of placing the mark on the product.
• Pattern mark: consists solely of a set of elements that repeat regularly.
• Colour mark: consists of a specific colour shade or colour combination.
• Sound mark: consists only of a sound or a combination of sounds. For example, a signature ringtone.
• Motion mark: consists of, or extends to, a movement or a change in the position of the elements of the mark.
• Multimedia mark: consists of, or extends to, a combination of image and sound.
• Hologram mark: consists of elements with holographic characteristics.
• Certification mark: distinguishes goods or services certified by the owner of the mark for material, manufacturing or service method, quality, accuracy or other characteristics.
• Collective mark: distinguishes the goods or services of the members of the association that owns the mark from those of other undertakings.

The form splits the question in two. One box for the kind of sign, with an "other, specify" option at the end for anything the list does not cover. A second box for whether the mark is an individual one, or a collective mark owned by an association and used by its members, or a certification mark saying the goods meet a standard the owner sets.

A colour mark needs its HEX or RGB codes written on the form. Anything that is not a plain word mark goes on the separate mark representation sheet the department publishes beside form E.S. 02.

How much does it cost to register a trademark in Cyprus?

The cost to register a trademark in Cyprus varies. For electronic applications, the basic fee is €129, with an added €94 for each extra class of goods or services. Certification or collective trademarks have higher fees, starting from €415 for electronic submission, plus class additions.

Four numbers cover most cases. Filing online costs €129 for the first class and €94 for each class after it. A preliminary opinion from the Registrar before you file costs €99 plus €77 per further class. Renewal ten years later costs €73 online. The registration certificate itself carries no fee at all.

Filing by hand or by post costs more than filing online in every category. Here are the details of the registration fees.

Type of registration fee	Application in person or by mail	Via an electronic form
Standard trademark (basic fee)	€141	€129
Standard trademark (each additional class)	€102	€94
Collective/Certification Mark (basic fee)	€443	€415
Collective/Certification Mark (each additional class)	€128	€116

Since 18 June 2020 one application form covers several classes, so the per-class figures above are additions to a single filing rather than the price of a second application. Upon receipt of your application, the Intellectual Property Section verifies that the registration conditions have been met. Once that is confirmed, you receive the registration number.

How to search for trademarks in Cyprus?

Search before you file. The Cyprus office checks earlier marks itself during examination, so a mark that clashes with one already registered will be stopped, and the filing fee is not refunded.

Five registers cover the ground, from the Cyprus national mark out to the international ones:

• TMview is where to search the Cyprus register now. It holds the national registers of every participating office in one free search, and new marks and changes appear the day after they are recorded.
• Official Gazette of the Republic (search tool): use this to check new trademark publications in Cyprus. It is the official check for conflicts during the three-month opposition period.
• eSearch Plus is the EU Intellectual Property Office's own database, covering EU trademarks and registered Community designs.
• WIPO Global Brand Database searches marks from national and international collections held by the World Intellectual Property Organisation.
• WIPO Madrid Monitor tracks trademarks registered through the Madrid System.

The Intellectual Property Section published a notice on 14 July 2026 telling the public not to use the old DRCOR IP eServices search, because that site is no longer updated. A clear result there proves nothing about the register today. The gov.cy portal page for searching the register still links to it, so the wrong tool is easy to reach by accident.

A preliminary opinion from the Registrar

A free database search tells you what is on the register. It does not tell you whether an examiner will treat your mark as too close to something already there, and that judgment is where most applications fail.

For that you file form E.S. 01 and ask the Intellectual Property Section for a preliminary opinion on whether the mark is registrable and whether it conflicts with an earlier Cyprus or EU right. The fee is €99 for the first class and €77 for each further class, the same online or by hand.

How to register a trademark in Cyprus?

To register a trademark in Cyprus, an application on form E.S. 02 is submitted to the Intellectual Property Section, with a representation of the mark, the list of goods and services, and the fee.

You can file it yourself or instruct a lawyer. A lawyer earns the fee on the earlier-rights search, on getting the classification right, and on the reply if the Section raises an objection.

The Registrar examines the application for compliance and uniqueness before potential registration.

Step-by-step procedure

Step 1. Submission of the application and payment

Once you are confident that your trademark meets all the requirements and is unique, you can apply to the Registrar by filling out form E.S. 02 and filing it through the e-filing system, by post, or in person. Email is not one of the channels.

The application must contain:

• a request for registration on form E.S. 02;
• a representation of the mark, needed for everything except a plain word mark, clear and precise enough for the register to show what is protected;
• the applicant's name, business address and email address, or for a company its name and registered office;
• the list of goods or services, classified under Nice;
• proof of payment of the filing fee.

Where priority is claimed, the form has a box for the country of the first filing, the earlier mark's number and its filing date, and the file carries a statement of the date and country of the earlier filing together with a certified copy of that filing or the filing certificate from the office concerned. A certified Greek translation of the priority documents goes in with them. A collective or certification mark needs its regulations of use too.

Describing the goods and services is worth care. Terms taken from the Nice class headings, or picked from the EU Intellectual Property Office's TMclass database, are accepted automatically. Four Nice headings are excluded as too vague: class 7 machines, class 37 repairs and installation services, class 40 treatment of materials, and class 45 personal and social services. Your own wording is allowed and gets examined.

If you have applied for the same trademark in another country that is a signatory to the Paris Convention (or a member of the WTO) within the last 6 months, you can claim "Priority" in your Cyprus application.

By claiming priority, your Cyprus application will be treated as if it were filed on the same date as your initial foreign application. That protects you against anyone who applied for a similar mark in Cyprus during the six-month interval.

Step 2. Examination of the application

The Section first checks that the application meets the formal requirements for information, data and documents. Where something is missing it sends a notice, and you have two months from receiving it to put the file right.

Let that pass and the application is archived without being examined. A priority claim that fails its own formal test is rejected on its own, and the rest of the application carries on. A separate two-month clock runs if the Section queries your Nice classification, on form E.S. 03, and there is no fee for that one either.

The Section then examines the application on the merits. It checks the absolute grounds under section 6 of the Trade Marks Law, which go to the mark itself: a sign that cannot be a trademark at all, a mark with no distinctive character, a term that has become generic in trade, a shape dictated by the product, and a mark that would mislead the public or offend public policy.

It then checks the relative grounds under section 7, meaning conflicts with earlier rights: marks already on the Cyprus register, EU trademarks, international registrations with effect in Cyprus, and pending applications for any of those. The Cyprus office runs that search itself rather than leaving it to earlier owners to object, which is why a search before filing is worth its fee.

Step 3. Hearing in case of conflict

If the examination shows that the application contains one or more reasons for rejection, you have up to 2 months to:

• withdraw the application on form E.S. 05;
• limit the goods or services so the mark becomes registrable, on form E.S. 06;
• file written observations answering the objection, on form E.S. 04;
• ask for a hearing before the final decision, on form E.S. 21, which the Section grants in exceptional and justified cases.

None of these four forms carries a fee. Each can be filed through the e-filing system, by hand or by post. If nothing is filed within the two months, the application is rejected.

The Registrar reviews the reply and issues a final decision accepting or rejecting the application. A rejection can be taken to the Administrative Court by recourse under section 32 of the Trade Marks Law, which covers decisions on oppositions and on revocation and invalidity as well.

Step 4. Publication and opposition period

When the Section is satisfied that the application meets the criteria under sections 6 and 7, the trademark is accepted and published in the Official Gazette of the Republic.

Following publication, there is a statutory 3-month period during which any third party may file an objection (opposition) to the registration of your trademark. Section 28(1) calls it a peremptory deadline, so it cannot be extended. Oppositions are usually based on the claim that the new mark is identical or confusingly similar to an existing earlier trademark.

An opposition is filed on form E.S. 14 with a fee of €348. Where it rests on relative grounds, the Section notifies both sides that they have two months to settle the matter between them, and that period can be stretched to a maximum of six months if both ask for it. Most oppositions end inside that window rather than in a decision.

Step 5. Registration

If no oppositions are filed within the 3 months, or if an opposition is withdrawn or dismissed, the Registrar registers the mark, publishes it in the Official Gazette and issues the Certificate of Registration. No further fee is payable at this step.

A Cyprus trademark runs for ten years from the date the application was filed, not from the date it was registered. It can then be renewed for further ten-year periods with no limit on how many times.

How long does the trademark registration process take in Cyprus?

The Intellectual Property Section does not publish a target processing time, and the statistics it does publish cover volumes rather than waiting times. What is fixed by law is the clock around the examination, and it is worth knowing which parts of the wait are yours to control.

Two months to answer a formal objection, and a separate two months to answer a query about your classification or an objection on the merits. Three months of opposition after publication in the Official Gazette, a deadline that cannot be extended. Then the certificate, which carries no fee.

The variable part is how long the Section takes to reach the file, and how many rounds of objection your mark draws. A clean word mark in one class, filed online with a search behind it, moves fastest. Ask us for the current wait before you file and we will tell you what we are seeing.

Reasons for the refusal of trademark registration

Cypriot law splits the grounds for refusal in two: absolute grounds under section 6 of the Trade Marks Law, which go to the mark itself, and relative grounds under section 7, which go to earlier rights.

The absolute ones include:

• a trademark contains an indication of the type, quality, quantity, destination, cost, geographical origin or time of production of goods or provision of services;
• a trademark has become common in colloquial or established trading practices;
• a mark consists exclusively of the shape of the product;
• a mark is contrary to public policy or moral values;
• a trademark may mislead the public regarding the nature, quality, or geographic origin of a product or service;
• a mark contains a crest, flag, or other emblems of the countries of the European Union without the permission of the competent authorities or a symbol, emblem, crest, or mark of religious significance;
• a mark is contrary to the legislation on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications, traditional wine terms, and guaranteed traditional unique products;
• an application for registration was filed by an applicant in bad faith.

The relative grounds cover conflicts with earlier rights. An identical or similar mark already on the Cyprus register, an EU trademark, an international registration with effect in Cyprus, or a pending application for any of those, where the overlap in goods or services creates a likelihood of confusion.

How to renew a Cyprus trademark

Renewal is filed on form E.S. 07 in the last six months of the current ten-year period. A late renewal is still accepted for six months after expiry, at the renewal fee plus 50%. Miss that too and the Intellectual Property Section strikes the mark off the register.

Renewing a standard trademark costs €73 online or €75 by hand or post for the first class, plus €59 or €60 for each further class. A collective or certification mark renews at €110 online or €112 by hand or post, with the same per-class additions.

The Section sends the owner a reminder six months before the protection period ends, covering what happens if the mark is not renewed and how late renewal works. Treat the reminder as a courtesy rather than a safeguard: the deadline runs whether or not the notice reaches you.

When a Cyprus trademark can be cancelled

Registration is not the end of the matter. Section 39 of the Trade Marks Law lets a third party strip the owner of the rights, in whole or in part, in several situations.

The first is non-use. If the mark has not been put to genuine use for the goods or services it was registered for during five consecutive years from registration, or if that use stops for five consecutive years, the rights can be revoked. Registering a long list of classes you never trade in builds a weakness into the registration rather than a defence.

The second is the mark going generic. Where the owner's own conduct or inaction has turned the mark into the ordinary trade name for the product, it can be revoked. The third is a mark that has become misleading through the way the owner uses it, on the nature, quality or geographical origin of the goods.

A mark can separately be declared invalid where it should never have been registered, under the same absolute and relative grounds an examiner applies. Our litigation lawyers in Cyprus handle revocation, invalidity and infringement actions.

Protecting your trademark outside Cyprus

A Cyprus registration stops at the Cyprus border. Two routes take the same mark further, and both start from one application rather than a filing in each country.

An EU trademark under Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 is filed at the EU Intellectual Property Office in Alicante and covers every member state, Cyprus included, as a single right. It stands or falls as a whole: an earlier right in any one member state can block it everywhere. An EU application that fails this way can be converted into national applications, and the Intellectual Property Section publishes guidance on converting one into a Cyprus mark.

The Madrid System, run by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, works the other way. You name the countries you want, and the mark is examined by each office under its own law, so a refusal in one country leaves the others standing. A Cyprus registration or application can serve as the basis for the international one.

Which route fits depends on where you actually trade and where your competitors are. We can look at the list with you before you pay for coverage you have no use for.