Recent Trademarking Trends

The EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) experienced record breaking volumes of trademark applications in 2018, with over 125,000 applications. This figure represented a 5% increase from 2017. Data emerging from last year also reveals interesting trademarking trends.

L'Oréal, the cosmetic conglomerate, filed the most number of applications, followed by two tech giants, Huawei and Samsung. These regulars to the trademark scene found themselves in the company of several newcomers to the top 100 filers list. They include Zitro IP and Design Works Studios, both of which are in the online gaming industry.

Meanwhile, many of the frequently top filing brands, including Apple, Skechers and Merck, dropped several spots on the top 100 list. Some did not even make an appearance on the 2018 list.

The top filing industries in order of frequency are: pharmaceutical, cosmetics, agrochemical, consumer goods, tobacco and gaming companies. In terms of Nice classifications, most applications were filed in technology and retail services classes, followed by computer software, entertainment, and clothing.

Geographically, most applicants were from the United States and Germany. Remarkably, the country with the highest application success rate was China, having had only 98 out of 12,019 applications rejected. This figure indicates that Chinese applications were around 5 times more likely to succeed than applications from the US or Germany. The data also indicated that Chinese applicants were particularly price sensitive in the way they approached filing applications.

It will be interesting to see what new trends will emerge from the 2019 filing year. Brexit is one factor that will likely affect volume, as some experts predict that more trademark applications will shift from EUIPO to the UK Intellectual Property Office.

Authors: Jaclyn Tilak