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If an unused or invalidly registered EU trademark is standing in the way of your own brand, our team at Brealant can pursue a cancellation action before EUIPO — or defend your registration if someone challenges yours.
Legal Definition of EU Trademark Cancellation
Cancellation, covering both revocation for non-use and invalidity actions under EU Trade Mark Regulation 2017/1001, is the process for removing a registered EUTM from the register.
Purpose and Function of Cancellation
A revocation action is most commonly used where a mark hasn't been genuinely used anywhere in the EU for a continuous period of 5 years, clearing the way for new applications.
Protecting Your Interests
Whether removing a blocking mark or defending your own registration, evidence of use — or its absence — across the EU is central to the outcome.
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Contact
Reach out to Brealant about the blocking registration, or the challenge to your own mark.
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Search
We review the target registration's use history across the EU and eligibility for a cancellation action.
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Quote
Receive a staged service quote covering each phase of the action.
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Pay
Proceed with secure payment for the stage you're instructing us on.
File
Brealant lodges the cancellation application, or the response, with EUIPO's Cancellation Division.
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Wait
EUIPO notifies the parties and manages the evidence process, if contested.
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Response
You receive EUIPO's decision on whether the mark is cancelled.
In the European Union, a revocation action begins with filing a cancellation application with EUIPO, which the registered owner can then contest. If contested, the owner must file evidence of genuine use across the relevant part of the EU, before EUIPO's Cancellation Division decides. Understanding the target mark's use history is the clearest way to assess your prospects.
A blocking registration that's genuinely fallen out of use across the EU can prevent you from registering, or fully protecting, your own brand. Brealant assesses the target mark's use history carefully before recommending action, so you understand the real prospects of success.
Cancellation is a powerful tool, but it has real limits
Minimum Registration Age
A non-use revocation action generally requires the target registration to have been registered for at least 5 years.
Burden of Proof Shifts
Once contested, the registered owner — not the applicant — carries the burden of proving genuine use, in any part of the EU, during the relevant period.
Use in Just One Member State May Be Enough
Genuine use in even a single member state can, depending on the circumstances, be sufficient to defeat a non-use action across the whole EU.
Time and Cost
A contested cancellation can take a year or more and involve real professional costs.
Partial Removal Only
The mark may be revoked only for some goods or services, not necessarily all of them.
Brealant gives you a realistic view of the likely timeline, cost, and prospects before you proceed.
A successful cancellation action protects
Your Path to Registration
Clearing the way for your own EU application in the same or overlapping classes.
Market Fairness
Removing marks that are no longer genuinely used across the EU but still block legitimate new entrants.
Register Accuracy
Keeping the EUIPO register reflective of marks that are actually in commercial use somewhere in the Union.
Your Investment
Protecting your brand strategy from being derailed by a stale, unused EU registration.
Brealant assesses whether cancellation is the right route before you commit resources to the action.
Cancellation timing depends on whether the action is contested
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Filing the Application
The cancellation application is lodged with EUIPO's Cancellation Division.
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Notice to the Owner
EUIPO notifies the registered owner, who can contest the cancellation with evidence.
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Evidence Exchange
If contested, the owner files evidence of genuine use, and the applicant may respond.
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Decision
EUIPO decides whether the mark is cancelled, in full or in part.
An uncontested cancellation can resolve in a few months; a contested action more commonly takes 12 months or longer, especially if appealed.
Costs scale with whether the action is contested
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EUIPO charges an official fee to file a cancellation application, typically in the region of a few hundred euros.
scale with whether the action is contested and how much evidence is required.
Brealant will assess your matter and quote before filing, so you know what to expect.
Once a blocking mark is removed, Brealant can move straight into clearing and filing your own EU application, so the opportunity created by the cancellation isn't lost to a competing filer.
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Generally, a continuous period of 5 years' non-use anywhere in the EU is the basis for a revocation action, and the registration must have been registered for at least 5 years.
Once a cancellation application is filed and contested, the registered owner carries the burden of proving genuine use during the relevant period.
It can — genuine use in a single member state has, in many cases, been found sufficient to maintain an EU-wide registration, depending on the market and goods involved.
Yes, marks can also be challenged through an invalidity action on absolute grounds, or on relative grounds based on an earlier conflicting right.
Yes, the owner can contest the cancellation and must then prove genuine use of the mark somewhere in the EU during the relevant period.
Generally, any natural or legal person can file for revocation based on non-use; invalidity on relative grounds is limited to owners of the conflicting earlier right.
Yes, cancellation can be partial, removing the registration only for the goods/services where non-use or the conflicting ground applies, while leaving the rest intact.
EUIPO charges an official fee of €630 to file a revocation or invalidity application, plus Brealant's professional fee for preparing and running the case.
Revocation for non-use normally takes effect from the date the cancellation application was filed (or an earlier date if requested and justified), while invalidity typically applies retroactively as if the mark was never registered.
Yes, we regularly bring or defend cancellation actions against EU trademarks regardless of who originally filed or registered them.
Discover more insights and stay informed about the latest in intellectual property with Brealant's blog. From expert advice on trademark registration and patent protection to strategies for safeguarding your brand in a competitive market, our resources are here to empower your business. .
Explore our blog to learn how effective IP management can strengthen your brand's position and protect your innovations
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