According to the Article 121 of Greek Law 4072/2012, “A Trademark may be any sign, which can be represented graphically and is capable of distinguishing a company’s products or services from those of other companies. Trademarks may be, most particularly, words, names, brand names, aliases, images, drawings, letters, numbers, colours, sounds (including musical phrases), the product’s shape or its packaging’s shape and the advertising slogans.” As clearly described above, a company’s products or services are distinguished by the products or services of other companies when they are connected with or characterized by a Trademark.
A company, and therefore its products and services, is distinguished from other companies by its brand name, no matter whether it was registered in the relevant chamber or not. Thanks to this distinction, we avoid consumers’ confusion. The company, as its reputation spreads, lends intangible commercial value to its brand name by providing qualitative products and services. The company must preserve this “distinction,” as its existence depends on it.
By registering a trademark, the company certifies and consolidates the above mentioned “distinction,” in order to continue to gain advantage from it. If the trademark is not registered with the relevant ministry, then the company risks being forced by the courts to stop using it, regardless of how much intangible commercial value it has given to that trademark, in case a third party registers that trademark for its own benefit by filing an application with the Trademark Office. Thus, creating and registering a company trademark not only confers a sense of uniqueness to your services and products, but also protects it from being used without your permission by unscrupulous competitors.
According to the Article 122 of Law 4072/2012, the right to exclusive use of a trademark is provided by its registration, which is realized by filing an application in the Directorate of Commercial and Industrial Property (Trademark Office) of the Ministry of Development, Competitiveness and Shipping, under Article 134 of the same law. The trademark is approved by the examiner and the Administrative Trademark Committee or the courts, through issue of final decisions in both cases.
Trademarks are classified into categories (classes), according to the Nice classification system. Classes 1 to 34 refer to the classification of products, and classes 35 to 45 refer to the classification of services. For example, a trademark that characterizes legal services is to be classified under class 45. If a trademark refers to multiple services or products, it can be classified under multiple classes, accordingly.
Click on the numbers in the picture below to see the services and products included in each class.
Chemicals used in industry, science and photography, as well as in agriculture, horticulture and forestry; unprocessed artificial resins, unprocessed plastics; manures; fire extinguishing compositions; tempering and soldering preparations; chemical substances for preserving foodstuffs; tanning substances; adhesives used in industry.
Class 1 includes mainly chemical products used in industry, science and agriculture, including those which go to the making of products belonging to other classes.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Paints, varnishes, lacquers; preservatives against rust and against deterioration of wood; colorants; mordants; raw natural resins; metals in foil and powder form for use in painting, decorating, printing and art.
Class 2 includes mainly paints, colorants and preparations used for the protection against corrosion.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Bleaching preparations and other substances for laundry use; cleaning, polishing, scouring and abrasive preparations; soaps; perfumery, essential oils, cosmetics, hair lotions; dentifrices.
Class 3 includes mainly cleaning preparations and toilet preparations.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Industrial oils and greases; lubricants; dust absorbing, wetting and binding compositions; fuels (including motor spirit) and illuminants; candles and wicks for lighting.
Class 4 includes mainly industrial oils and greases, fuels and illuminants.
This Class does not include, in particular:
Pharmaceuticals, medical and veterinary preparations; sanitary preparations for medical purposes; dietetic food and substances adapted for medical or veterinary use, food for babies; dietary supplements for humans and animals; plasters, materials for dressings; material for stopping teeth, dental wax; disinfectants; preparations for destroying vermin; fungicides, herbicides.
Class 5 includes mainly pharmaceuticals and other preparations for medical or veterinary purposes.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Common metals and their alloys; metal building materials; transportable buildings of metal; materials of metal for railway tracks; non-electric cables and wires of common metal; ironmongery, small items of metal hardware; pipes and tubes of metal; safes; ores.
Class 6 includes mainly unwrought and partly wrought common metals as well as simple products made of them.
This Class does not include, in particular:
Machines and machine tools; motors and engines (except for land vehicles); machine coupling and transmission components (except for land vehicles); agricultural implements other than hand-operated; incubators for eggs; automatic vending machines.
Class 7 includes mainly machines, machine tools, motors and engines.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Hand tools and implements (hand-operated); cutlery; side arms; razors.
Class 8 includes mainly hand-operated implements used as tools in the respective professions.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Scientific, nautical, surveying, photographic, cinematographic, optical, weighing, measuring, signalling, checking (supervision), life-saving and teaching apparatus and instruments; apparatus and instruments for conducting, switching, transforming, accumulating, regulating or controlling electricity; apparatus for recording, transmission or reproduction of sound or images; magnetic data carriers, recording discs; compact discs, DVDs and other digital recording media; mechanisms for coin-operated apparatus; cash registers, calculating machines, data processing equipment, computers; computer software; fire-extinguishing apparatus.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Surgical, medical, dental and veterinary apparatus and instruments; artificial limbs, eyes and teeth; orthopedic articles; suture materials.
Class 10 includes mainly medical apparatus, instruments and articles.
This Class includes, in particular:
Apparatus for lighting, heating, steam generating, cooking, refrigerating, drying, ventilating, water supply and sanitary purposes.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Vehicles; apparatus for locomotion by land, air or water.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Firearms; ammunition and projectiles; explosives; fireworks.
Class 13 includes mainly firearms and pyrotechnical products.
This Class does not include, in particular:
Precious metals and their alloys; jewellery, precious stones; horological and chronometric instruments.
Class 14 includes mainly precious metals, goods in precious metals or coated therewith and, in general jewellery, clocks and watches.
This Class includes, in particular:
jewellery (i.e., imitation jewellery and jewellery of precious metal and stones);This Class does not include, in particular:
Musical instruments.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Paper and cardboard; printed matter; bookbinding material; photographs; stationery; adhesives for stationery or household purposes; artists' materials; paintbrushes; typewriters and office requisites (except furniture); instructional and teaching material (except apparatus); plastic materials for packaging; printers' type; printing blocks.
Class 16 includes mainly paper and cardboard, goods made from those materials and office requisites.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Unprocessed and semi-processed rubber, gutta-percha, gum, asbestos, mica and substitutes for all these materials; plastics in extruded form for use in manufacture; packing, stopping and insulating materials; flexible pipes, not of metal.
Class 17 includes mainly electrical, thermal and acoustic insulating materials and plastics, being for use in manufacture in the form of sheets, blocks and rods, and goods made of the materials in this class.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Leather and imitations of leather; animal skins, hides; trunks and travelling bags; umbrellas and parasols; walking sticks; whips, harness and saddlery.
Class 18 includes mainly leather, imitations of leather, goods made of those materials, travel goods and saddlery.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Building materials (non-metallic); non-metallic rigid pipes for building; asphalt, pitch and bitumen; non-metallic transportable buildings; monuments, not of metal.
Class 19 includes mainly non-metallic building materials.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Furniture, mirrors, picture frames; unworked or semi-worked bone, horn, ivory, whalebone or mother-of-pearl; shells; meerschaum; yellow amber.
Class 20 includes mainly furniture and parts therefor, as well as certain goods made of wood, cork, reed, cane, wicker, horn, bone, ivory, whalebone, shell, amber, mother-of-pearl, meerschaum and substitutes for all these materials, or of plastic.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Household or kitchen utensils and containers; combs and sponges; brushes (except paintbrushes); brush-making materials; articles for cleaning purposes; steelwool; unworked or semi-worked glass (except glass used in building); glassware, porcelain and earthenware.
Class 21 includes mainly small, hand-operated utensils and apparatus for household and kitchen use as well as toilet utensils, glassware and articles in porcelain.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Ropes and string; nets; tents, awnings and tarpaulins; sails; sacks; padding and stuffing materials (except of paper, cardboard, rubber or plastics); raw fibrous textile materials.
Class 22 includes mainly canvas and other materials for making sails, rope, padding and stuffing materials and raw fibrous textile materials.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Yarns and threads, for textile use.
Textiles and substitutes for textiles; bed covers; table covers.
Class 24 includes mainly textiles (piece goods) and textile covers for household use.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Clothing, footwear, headgear.
This Class does not include, in particular:
Lace and embroidery, ribbons and braid; buttons, hooks and eyes, pins and needles; artificial flowers.
Class 26 includes mainly dressmakers' articles.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Carpets, rugs, mats and matting, linoleum and other materials for covering existing floors; wall hangings (non-textile).
Class 27 includes mainly products intended to be added as furnishings to previously constructed floors and walls.
This Class does not include, in particular:
Games and playthings; gymnastic and sporting articles; decorations for Christmas trees.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Meat, fish, poultry and game; meat extracts; preserved, frozen, dried and cooked fruits and vegetables; jellies, jams, compotes; eggs; milk and milk products; edible oils and fats.
Class 29 includes mainly foodstuffs of animal origin as well as vegetables and other horticultural comestible products which are prepared for consumption or conservation.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Coffee, tea, cocoa and artificial coffee; rice; tapioca and sago; flour and preparations made from cereals; bread, pastries and confectionery; edible ices; sugar, honey, treacle; yeast, baking-powder; salt; mustard; vinegar, sauces (condiments); spices; ice.
Class 30 includes mainly foodstuffs of plant origin prepared for consumption or conservation as well as auxiliaries intended for the improvement of the flavour of food.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Agricultural, horticultural and forestry products; raw and unprocessed grains and seeds; fresh fruits and vegetables; natural plants and flowers; live animals; foodstuffs for animals; malt.
Class 31 includes mainly land products not having been subjected to any form of preparation for consumption, live animals and plants as well as foodstuffs for animals.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Beers; mineral and aerated waters and other non-alcoholic beverages; fruit beverages and fruit juices; syrups and other preparations for making beverages.
Class 32 includes mainly non-alcoholic beverages, as well as beer.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Alcoholic beverages (except beers).
This Class does not include, in particular:
Tobacco; smokers' articles; matches.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Advertising; business management; business administration; office functions.
Class 35 includes mainly services rendered by persons or organizations principally with the object of: 1. help in the working or management of a commercial undertaking, or 2. help in the management of the business affairs or commercial functions of an industrial or commercial enterprise, as well as services rendered by advertising establishments primarily undertaking communications to the public, declarations or announcements by all means of diffusion and concerning all kinds of goods or services.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Insurance; financial affairs; monetary affairs; real estate affairs.
Class 36 includes mainly services rendered in financial and monetary affairs and services rendered in relation to insurance contracts of all kinds.
This Class includes, in particular:
Building construction; repair; installation services.
Class 37 includes mainly services rendered by contractors or subcontractors in the construction or making of permanent buildings, as well as services rendered by persons or organizations engaged in the restoration of objects to their original condition or in their preservation without altering their physical or chemical properties.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Telecommunications.
Class 38 includes mainly services allowing at least one person to communicate with another by a sensory means. Such services include those which: 1. allow one person to talk to another, 2. transmit messages from one person to another, and 3. place a person in oral or visual communication with another (radio and television).
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Transport; packaging and storage of goods; travel arrangement.
Class 39 includes mainly services for the transport of people, animals or goods from one place to another (by rail, road, water, air or pipeline) and services necessarily connected with such transport, as well as services relating to the storing of goods in a warehouse or other building for their preservation or guarding.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Treatment of materials.
Class 40 includes mainly services not included in other classes, rendered by the mechanical or chemical processing, transformation or production of objects or inorganic or organic substances, including custom manufacturing services. For the purposes of classification, the production or manufacturing of goods is considered a service only in cases where it is effected for the account of another person to their order and specification. If the production or manufacturing is not being performed to fulfil an order for goods which meet the customer's particular needs, requirements, or specifications, then it is generally ancillary to the maker's primary commercial activity or goods in trade. If the substance or object is marketed to third parties by the person who processed, transformed or produced it, then this would generally not be considered a service.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Education; providing of training; entertainment; sporting and cultural activities.
Class 41 covers mainly services rendered by persons or institutions in the development of the mental faculties of persons or animals, as well as services intended to entertain or to engage the attention.
This Class includes, in particular:
Scientific and technological services and research and design relating thereto; industrial analysis and research services; design and development of computer hardware and software.
Class 42 includes mainly services provided by persons, individually or collectively, in relation to the theoretical and practical aspects of complex fields of activities; such services are provided by members of professions such as chemists, physicists, engineers, computer programmers, etc.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Services for providing food and drink; temporary accommodation.
Class 43 includes mainly services provided by persons or establishments whose aim is to prepare food and drink for consumption and services provided to obtain bed and board in hotels, boarding houses or other establishments providing temporary accommodation.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Medical services; veterinary services; hygienic and beauty care for human beings or animals; agriculture, horticulture and forestry services.
Class 44 includes mainly medical care, hygienic and beauty care given by persons or establishments to human beings and animals; it also includes services relating to the fields of agriculture, horticulture and forestry.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Legal services; security services for the protection of property and individuals; personal and social services rendered by others to meet the needs of individuals.
This Class includes, in particular:
This Class does not include, in particular:
Trademark registration procedure requires legal knowledge and experience, as its terms and conditions are specified by law. A trademark must fulfill certain requirements in order to be approved, and, of course, it must not resemble at all an already registered trademark to avoid consumers’ confusion. In order to register a trademark, apart from confirming the validity of its substantive and formal legal conditions, we must also search carefully to check if there is an already registered trademark that is identical or similar. Historically and for that reason, only lawyers (acting on behalf of their clients) were allowed to file applications for trademark registrations to ensure that all the necessary legal protocols were followed. Therefore, in order to guarantee the best possible treatment of your case, we encourage you to appoint a lawyer to file for a trademark application. There are companies that provide the same service, either collaborating with a lawyer (they act as a third party) or acting without the necessary knowledge and experience.
Our law firm, having many years of experience in this particular field, will complete the entire procedure of registering your trademark with the Trademark Office of the General Secretariat of Commerce and Consumer Protection. We can also register your trademark as a EU trademark, so that you can use it to distinguish your products and services in all countries within the European Union. Furthermore, a registered national trademark can be also registered as a EU trademark, or even as an international trademark. The following diagram outlines the steps of the trademark registration procedure of the Trademark Office.
Upon acceptance of your trademark’s declaration by the Trademark Office, you are entitled to its exclusive use to distinguish your products and services. You can protect it from infringements by third parties by filing an application for interim measures and suing before a civil court.
Especially in the case where a third party registers a trademark in the Trademark Office, which is similar or identical to yours and, therefore, confuses your customers, you have the right to lodge an opposition against the decision of the examiner who accepted the declaration. This must be done no later than three months from the publication date of the decision on the website of the General Secretariat of Commerce and Consumer Protection. The opposition is an application, which is drafted by a lawyer who subsequently files it with the Trademark Office to be tried by the Administrative Trademark Committee. On the day of the trial, a lawyer represents the opposing party before the Committee and provides a complete record of the case, including a memorandum and other relevant documents.
The cost for domestic trademark registration includes the government fee and our law firm’s fee for completing the process. The government fee for trademark registration costs one hundred ten euros (110,00€) for one Nice class, plus twenty euros (20,00€) for each additional class selected, up to ten classes.
To registering an EU trademark with the fast-track procedure, the government fee for filing the application costs is eight hundred and fifty euros (850,00€). That amount covers one class of products and services. The fee for the second class is fifty euros (50,00€) and for three or more classes is one hundred and fifty euros (150,00€) for each class.
Our law firm’s fee to complete the registration procedure for a national or Community trademark is usually fixed; however, the Greek Code of Lawyers prohibits posting it on our website. Still, we can share that information with you via email or other means.
Our fixed fee for a trademark registration procedure covers the steps shown in the following image.
Greek National, EU and International trademark registration is a service we provide to foreign companies, too. Ask us for a quote to registering your trademark today!
The total trademark registration cost is affordable for the average company, especially considering the fact that the company directly benefits from the goodwill of its investment, as it protects the distinction of its products and services in the most legitimate way.
Honor us with your trust. Do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.
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