There is no fixed statutory deadline within which a trademark application must be published. The duration depends on the office where you file, the completeness of your file and whether any special matters emerge during the initial examination. For a file without complications, this process runs smoothly; if there are ambiguities in the class selection or the description of goods and services, it may take longer before the BOIP or the EUIPO actually publishes your application.
Publication is an intermediate step, not an endpoint. Once your application is published, the period begins during which others can file opposition against it. Until publication takes place, you do not yet know when the clock starts ticking for third parties. Anyone wishing to better understand this process will find the steps preceding filing on the page on registering a trademark.
What happens before publication
After filing, the office first checks whether the file is complete: is the trademark owner correctly listed, is the trademark representation clear, are the classes from the Nice Classification correctly filled in, and has the fee been paid. This is called the formal examination. Only then does the EUIPO also conduct a substantive examination on so-called absolute grounds: is the name or sign inherently suitable to function as a trademark, or is it for example purely descriptive of the goods or services for which it is applied for. The BOIP conducts a less thorough examination on this point than the EUIPO, which is one of the reasons why the processing time can differ between the two offices.
If both examinations are completed without remarks, the application proceeds to publication. If a remark does arise, the applicant has the opportunity to respond or adjust the file, and this almost always takes extra time. Exactly how much time cannot be fixed in a strict rule; it varies from file to file and from office to office. The current, official deadlines and the status of each application can be found in the public registers of the BOIP and the EUIPO themselves.
Where processing time can slip in practice
Most delays do not come from the office but from the file itself. A trademark representation that does not match what is actually used, a class description that is too broad or conversely too vague, or a name that comes close to an existing description of goods, more often leads to an inquiry from the office. Every question that must be answered extends the process before publication can take place.
The choice of classes also plays a role in this. An application with a clear, well-defined class list is usually substantively examined faster than an application with a long, generic list of goods and services. This is one of the reasons why targeted preparation, with a conflict search against existing registers beforehand, can make the difference between a smooth process and a file that stalls due to inquiries. With an initial indication in a few questions you gain insight into potential bottlenecks before you file.
The difference between BOIP and EUIPO
Because the EUIPO conducts an additional substantive examination on absolute grounds, and because a European Union trademark must withstand in multiple countries simultaneously, the likelihood of a remark from the office is slightly higher there than at the BOIP. This does not automatically mean that a European Union trademark application always takes longer to publish; a well-prepared file at the EUIPO can proceed just as smoothly as a file at the BOIP. It does mean that the preparation, in particular the class selection and description of goods and services, deserves extra attention for a European Union trademark.
After publication: the opposition period
Once your application is published, the period begins during which third parties can file opposition. This is a separate phase with its own timeline, independent of the time the publication itself has taken. If no opposition is filed, the office proceeds to registration. If opposition is filed, a different process begins with its own timeline, and it is advisable to transfer the file to a trade mark attorney.
Anyone who wants to know exactly how marcai.eu handles the preparation and monitoring of this entire process, and which sources are used, can read that on the page explaining where the information comes from. The costs associated with the various steps, from service fee to office fee, are clearly set out on the pricing page.
Would you like to know where your trade mark name stands today, before you take the step to file? Take the free quick-scan or browse through the knowledge base on marcai.eu; both can be consulted without an account and provide an initial, non-binding picture of your situation.