The EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) will establish a mediation center to help companies resolve disputes on this issue without pursuing appeals or court action. The service will be provided free of charge, offering an alternative path for those with limited resources.
Executive leadership from EUIPO underscored this initiative, with João Negrão announcing the launch. The center will be located at the Euroagency headquarters in Alicante and will become available to eligible companies starting this Wednesday. EUIPO, the body responsible for EU-wide trademark registrations as well as industrial designs and drawings, processes more than 270,000 records annually, including 170,000 brands and 100,000 designs and models, making it the Union’s second-largest decentralized agency.
The new center will support mediation, compromise, and expert determination by a qualified team of multilingual, seasoned mediators and case managers. The Alternative Dispute Resolution Service now managing the center comprises 13 staff members and plans to expand to 20 expert mediators in intellectual property without exclusive affiliations, with expectations to grow further in the near term.
a single process
EUIPO highlights that alternative dispute resolution tools help parties resolve a broad range of conflicts through a single process, reducing costs and the complexities often associated with court disputes. The aim is to facilitate fast, efficient, and globally reliable agreements, which EUIPO considers especially important for smaller companies facing cross-border disputes where resolving issues affordably matters most.
The center will feature an online platform enabling mediators and parties to interact in a secure, confidential environment. All services adhere to the same core principles: impartial mediators, conciliators, and experts; confidentiality of the process; and voluntary participation by the parties.
João Negrão, EUIPO’s director general, stated that the new center would help citizens and companies effectively manage intellectual property rights and avoid costly litigation, noting that disagreements can be unpredictable. He also observed that roughly 42% of EU trademark applications originate from non-EU companies, illustrating the growing relevance of cross-border dispute resolution services.
Ten years of experience
The mediation center rests on a decade of prior work in mediation and conciliation of intellectual property disputes conducted by EUIPO’s Appeals Boards. This body has the authority to decide appeals against EU trademarks and registered community designs. Each year, it handles more than 2,600 cases, with only a small fraction reaching mediation. The goal is to increase this figure and resolve more issues before they escalate to formal procedures.
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EUIPO notes that Spanish companies are among the primary beneficiaries of the new mediation center. In 2022, Spain ranked among the top five applicants for Community trademarks and also as a leading country of origin for inter-party procedures before EUIPO. Consequently, Spanish will be one of the languages supported by the center, ensuring accessibility for local users.
Alternative dispute resolution types
Mediation: This process enables parties to reach an amicable settlement with the mediator guiding discussions, aiming for a voluntary and mutually satisfactory agreement.
Compromise: The conciliator suggests practical solutions to the merits of the dispute before EUIPO. Proposals are negotiated and refined with the parties who may accept or reject them as they see fit.
Determined by the expert: If progress stalls during mediation or conciliation, the parties may request an expert determination on a specific issue to pave the way toward agreement.