Yes! A slogan can be registered as a wordmark, both at the national level (OSIM), as well as at the European (EUIPO) or international (WIPO) levels.

Yes! This refers to the SME Fund "Ideas Powered for Business" (2024). In brief, the interested SME submits a grant application online (https://euipo.europa.eu/sme-fund/user/login ). After receiving the voucher (up to 1000 Euros for trademarks, up to 1350 Euros for IP scan services, and up to 3500 Euros for patents) with a validity of 2 months (from the date of the funding decision), the SME (not NGOs, public institutions, or universities) files the registration applications, pays the respective fees, and then requests a reimbursement of 75%-90% of what was paid.

For example, for an individual, figurative, colored trademark with 2 classes of services or products, the registration fee at OSIM is 2,139 lei (including filing, publication, examination, and certificate issuance fees), applicable for the year 2024. The fees can also be calculated using the online calculator developed by OSIM – (https://www.osim.ro/images/Marci/OSIM-RO-calculator-taxe-2024-MarciBB.html).

The costs include the EUIPO fee and the industrial property advisor’s fee. The fee for registering a European trademark starts at €850 (for an online application, covering one class of goods/services, regardless of the trademark's color). The second class is €50, with an additional €150 for each additional class starting from the third.

• Protection Conditions: utility models require novelty, industrial applicability, and a minimum level of innovativeness; patents require novelty, industrial applicability, and inventiveness (higher than that of utility models).


• Scope: utility models protect physical products (devices, equipment); patents protect both products and processes and methods.


• Protection Duration: utility models 6 years, extendable up to 10 years; patents 20 years.


• Registration Procedure: utility models do not require detailed technical examination, only a documentation report; patents require a thorough technical examination.


• Costs: for utility models the costs are lower, both for registration and maintenance; for patents, the costs are higher due to complex procedures and the longer duration of protection.

A trademark is a symbol, name, logo, slogan or even the shape of a product or packaging that identifies and differentiates the goods or services of one business from those of other businesses. Trademarks protect brand identity. In contrast, a patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which may be a new and inventive product or process susceptible of industrial application. Patents provide protection against others using, making, selling or importing the invention without permission.

A patent protects a new, innovative and useful invention, which can be a product, a process, a machine or a composition of matter. To obtain a patent, an application must be filed with the national patent office (e.g. OSIM in Romania) that includes a detailed description of the invention, patent claims and usually technical drawings. The invention must be new, involve an inventive step and be susceptible of industrial application.

Technical solutions that have a low inventive step (i.e. they only bring an improvement to a product or technology) can be protected by utility model registration.

To check whether a trademark is already registered, you can search public databases. In Romania, the online register of the Romanian State Office for Inventions and Trademarks (OSIM) can be accessed. Internationally, the TMview database for European trademarks or the WIPO Global Brand Database for international trademarks can be consulted.

An intellectual property license is a legal agreement by which the owner of an intellectual property right allows another person or entity to use those rights, under certain conditions. Licenses may be exclusive or non-exclusive and may include specific terms regarding duration, territory and purpose of use. The owner generally retains the ownership rights and the licensee obtains the right to use the intellectual property according to the agreed terms.

To obtain copyright protection, a work must be original and fixed in a tangible form of expression. Originality means that the work must be independently created by the author and possess a minimum of creativity. Tangible form means that the work must be physically represented, such as a manuscript, an audio or video recording, a painting, etc. Copyright protects the expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves.

A trade secret is any information that has commercial value and is kept confidential to provide a competitive advantage. Examples of trade secrets include formulas, business practices, processes, designs and methods. Concrete examples of trade secrets: the Coca-cola recipe, the KFC formula for fried chicken, the Netflix recommendation algorithm, the Pizza Hut pizza dough recipe. Unlike patents, which require public disclosure of the invention in exchange for legal protection, trade secrets remain protected as long as the information is kept confidential and does not become public. Patents offer time-limited legal protection (usually 20 years).

No, copyright does not protect the ideas or concepts themselves. They only protect the original expression of those ideas when they are fixed in a tangible form, such as a written text, a piece of music, a work of visual art, etc. To protect an idea or concept, you may need to use other forms of intellectual property protection, such as patents.

An industrial design protects the aesthetic appearance of an object, including the shape, configuration, design or ornamentation which gives a product its unique character. To obtain industrial design protection, an application for registration must be filed with the national or European office. The design must be new and original. Industrial design protection gives the holder the exclusive right to prevent unauthorized use by third parties for a fixed period of time (usually 5 years, renewable up to 25 years).

Although registering your company name with the Trade Register is mandatory for legal operation, to ensure that your company name is protected against unauthorized use by other persons or entities, it would be useful to register your name as a trademark with the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks.

If you don't renew a trademark or patent, the legal protection they offer will expire. For trademarks, the period of protection is usually 10 years and can be renewed indefinitely, as long as renewal fees are paid. If you don't renew a trademark, it can be removed from the trademark register and registered by someone else. For patents, the period of protection is generally 20 years from the date of application, with no possibility of extension in most countries. Once the patent expires, the invention becomes part of the public domain and anyone can use it without infringing intellectual property rights.

To challenge the registration of a trademark by someone else, you must follow the opposition procedure. This involves filing a notice of opposition, explaining why you think the mark should not be registered. Reasons may include similarity to an existing mark, fraudulent or deceptive use or lack of distinctiveness. After filing the notice of opposition, the industrial property office will evaluate your and the applicant's arguments and decide whether or not the mark can be registered. The process may include arguing your case before the Opposition Board and submitting additional evidence.

A trademark registered at European level can be challenged on grounds of non-use by initiating a revocation procedure at the EUIPO. The challenger must prove that the trademark has not been used in the European Union for a continuous period of five years in relation to the goods or services for which it is registered. Evidence may include affidavits, invoices, proof of advertising or other documents supporting the lack of use.

An intellectual property audit is important to identify and evaluate all of a company's intellectual property assets, ensuring that they are properly registered and protected. It also helps manage risks, capitalize on commercial opportunities and avoid potential legal conflicts.

If a registered trademark is not used for 5 years, it may be vulnerable to cancellation or removal at the request of a third party who can argue non-use. Use must be genuine and in relation to the goods or services for which the trademark is registered.

No, it is not necessary for the brand to have the same name as the company (the legal entity), but it is important for the brand to be protected (registered), otherwise it can be used or registered by any competitor. For example, I am known as Ariel, but my company is Unilever. I can operate under the brand Ariel, but it is important for the Ariel brand to be registered to avoid conflicts.