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Register a trademark in portugal

Our 2025 Guide on how to register a Trademark in Portugal and the EU– Tsaks Trademarks

About trademarks and trademark applications in Portugal

Registering a trademark Portugal is a simple and easy process that our team at Tsaks Trademarks can guide you through and carry out for you. Your trademark will need to be registered with the local Portuguese authorities, and then it can be registered at a European level – depending on your business plans and requirements.

Registering your trademark is necessary to ensure you have exclusive use of a specific trademark (sign, symbol, image, character, etc) and also to ensure that you protect your brand and the future value of your business.

It also enables you to market your business with confidence knowing that your trademark is protected. Our European trademark lawyers have the capability, know-how and experience to assist you with every step of the process. Ther first step is to submit a special form as well as the trademark representation to the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property. There are some requirements around the uniqueness of your trademark which you will also need to consider.

Why our clients register their trademarks in Portugal

Most of our clients register their trademarks in Portugal or the EU for:

  • Legal protection for their brand and marketing efforts
  • To build up an additional asset for when they sell their businesses
  • To boost brand recognition and brand credibility
  • To ensure exclusivity for the business they want to create and invest in and the associated name

What can be trademarked in Portugal and across the EU (Greece, Italy etc) and how our clients get help

In Portugal and across the EU, you can trademark:

  • Words
  • Letters
  • Numbers
  • Images, drawings and even colours
  • Sounds
  • Logos

Our team of trademark lawyers help our clients through the entire process to ensure they successfully complete the trademark process for the correct classes and in the right countries to protect their brands and businesses.

Some of the reasons trademark applications are rejected in Portugal and the EU and how to get help

Our trademark lawyers in the EU, including in Portugal, have helped many clients deal with trademark rejections. Trademarks can be rejected for a wide variety of reasons including:

  • If they are not original designs or words and are copied from elsewhere
  • If they are description or misleading
  • If there is offensive language in the trademark or if they can be interpreted as offensive.

Examples of trademarks that cannot be registered in Portugal include:

  • Trademarks that are similar to other existing trademarks. If there is the potential for confusion, then you cannot register the trademark in Portugal (or the EU) if it is likely to be confused with another, already registered trademark.
  • Trademarks that are generic and describe generic terms. They are not unique enough to trademark.
  • Phrases that have been associated with a specific brand or some type of good or service for a long period of time. This is because they are not considered ‘new’.
  • Any images or marks that have the flags or any other emblem from a specific state, unless there is explicit authority granted by that state to register the trademark in Portugal (or the EU)
  • Reproductions of artistic works

Our lawyers and attorneys in Portugal and the EU who specialise in trademark applications will provide you initial feedback and guidance on your application and it’s suitability.

What is the process for registering a trademark in Portugal

You can make multiple-class trademark applications in Portugal. That is excellent as it means that if your product or service extends across multiple-classes, you can make all the applications at once. You will need to provide some key information as part of your application including:

  • The name of the applicant, your nationality, address and email. You will also need other identification including tax identification number and your company name.
  • A copy or representation of your trademark
  • The goods and services you will provide and which you need protection for
  • There is a priority system which involves applying for and being given priority if you have made an earlier application
  • Paying the relevant fees
  • The classification of the goods you need to trademark. This is important and our trademark and IP attorneys in Portugal and across the EU can guide you on what is the correct classification and class for your product or service according to the Nice Classification.
  • An authorisation from another party or person if trademark requires consent from that third party
  • A recoding of the sounds in mp3 or WAVE format if the trademark includes a sound.

Our team of European trademark lawyers including our trademark lawyers in Portugal assists businesses across the global to manage their intellectual property affairs in Portugal including trademark applications and trademark registration applications.

Our team will keep you up to date of the entire trademark application process all the way up until when it is published in the Industrial Property Bulletin.

It is a relatively lengthy process given there is a two-month period in which oppositions can be filed. You will also need to renew your trademark every ten years, although our team here at Tsaks Trademarks provide an alert system to ensure you are reminded of this.

Priority when registering intellectual property including trademarks in Portugal and the EU

Although it is generally rare, there are occasions when two people or entities file an application at the same time to register intellectual property (such as a trademark or other invention) in Portugal. When this occurs, the first person to submit all the required documentation and an application full will be given priority.

The different types of intellectual property our lawyers in Portugal and the EU can assist you with

Our intellectual property and trademark lawyers in Portugal can assist you to protect all different types of intellectual property. Examples include patents, trademarks and copyright.

  • Patent: Patents is quite a broad area that covers different types of unique inventions and also innovative steps that are applied to a range of different applications. Patents have a 20 year duration and gives the business or person who holds the patent exclusive use of it. Our IP lawyers in Portugal advise clients not only on registering patents, but also on licensing their intellectual property rights to other parties.
  • Trademarks: As outlined above, we can assise in registering trademarks in Portugal as long as a number of other services including:
    • Ownership Tranfsers for trademarks in Portugal and the EU
    • Responding to oppositions for trademark applications in Portugal and the EU
    • Cease and desist letters for trademark applications in Portugal and the EU
    • Response to office actions for trademarks in Portugal and the EU
  • Copyright: There is no need to register copyright. Copyright is granted from the time of the work with no need for registration. It lasts 50 years and our legal team can advise you on what is copyright protected and what need to be trademarked.

How long does it take to register a trademark in Portugal and Europe?

The registration process usually takes four months and our trademarks team will guide you very step of the way. It usually takes a week of going back and forth with our team before we make your application. The process generally entails the following steps:

  • Trademark application is submitted
  • A formal examination is undertaken with the application assessed against the Nice Classification. All of the data and details in the form will also be checked.
  • The trademark will be published in the Industrial Property Bulletin.
  • There is a two month exhibition period. After this period, if there is no opposition, the examination is conducted and the trademark is then published in the Industrial Property Bulletin. If there is opposition, the there is a contestation and the examination will only complete once the contestation I resolved and the deadline passes.
  • The decision is made and the trademark is with granted or refused.

If your trademark is refused, there are a number of routes which are lawyer and attorneys can assist you with to appeal the decision. You need to decide within two months of the decision. Options include going to the:

  • Intellectual Property Cout
  • Arbitrae

Here at Tsaks Trademarks, we generally recommend conducting a thorough pre-application search and assessment of your trademark so you do not waste time and money going through the appeal process unnecessarily.

Registering a logo for your business in Portugal or the EU

Many businesses register their logo as a trademark since it is a core component of their marketing and brand equity and an asset in their business. You need to ensure that there is no similar logo to the logo you wish to register (our legal team will check this for you) and that the logo is eligible for registration.

All different types of logos can be registered from names to drawings, pictures and combinations of these.

Some of the same principals to trademarks about what you cannot register also apply to logos. For example you cannot register logos that are offensive.

Our team can help you register your logo in Portugal or the EU. We will require:

  • A copy of the logo
  • A colour for the logo
  • Your identification including name and tax number
  • The classes or classification of the goods or service
  • Signature and portait

Other trademark and IP applications our IP lawyers can assist with in Portugal and the EU

Our team can assist with a broad range of other applications including:

  • Applications for agricultural goods, food and spirit drinks
  • Applications for wines
  • Applications for collective trademarks and certificates of guarantee for trademarks
  • Applications for trade designs

Our guide to registering your trademark and other IP in Portugal and the EU in 2025

Protecting your business and brand equity

One of the key benefits is that you will protect your brand equity. If you are going to invest money in marketing your business, or your time and effort, then it’s a good idea to protect your brand. Our team will guide you through the process and it isn’t an expensive process especially given the risk of not having trademark protection.

Start the trademark application process early

It is important to start the trademark application process early. This is because as part of the process, we will check for other similar trademarks. This advantage is that if there is an issue, you will know about it and may have time to change your name before spending money on graphics, logos and other expensive marketing material which you will then need to re-change.

Think of our expansion plans

We can help you register your trademark in Portugal and generally recommend that if you plan to expand your business across the EU then you protect your brand in the EU as well. It’s important to think of your future growth plans when registering your brand.