ZEMANN IP provides professional support for provisional refusals in Austria

Your company has received a provisional refusal. What does that mean?

With an International Registration, companies can obtain trademark protection in significantly more than 100 countries.

But: The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) only checks the application formally, but not for potential obstacles under the national laws of the individual target countries. This is done by the trademark offices in the target countries – in Austria by the Austrian Patent Office, and in the EU, by the EUIPO in Alicante.

If your company has received a provisional refusal for Austria, it means:

• The Austrian Patent Office is of the opinion that absolute grounds for refusal exist – for example, because it considers the sign to be descriptive, or thinks that the sign violates public order.

and/or

• Someone has filed an opposition against the International Registration in Austria based on an older trademark.

What now?

Nothing is lost yet: The Austrian Patent Office has set a deadline for comments in the provisional refusal – usually three to four months. Your company should check whether the provisional refusal is justified. If not, a timely submission of comments must be made if you wish to prevent the provisional refusal from becoming final.

ZEMANN IP assists in assessing the chances of success of a comment and is happy to represent your company before the Austrian Patent Office.

Do you need support with a provisional refusal from the Austrian Patent Office or the EUIPO?