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Trademark application process at PRH

We check first that your trademark application is formally correct in terms of, for example, the classification and the applicant details. After this, we start the actual processing and examine whether the trademark can be registered.

However, the proposed trademark is given protection from the application date (filing date) onwards against any trademark applications filed later.

Read more about obtaining an application date.

Processing steps

You can see the processing steps in the picture below. We explain the steps further down in the text.


Picture: Processing steps.



Formal examination of the application

First, we check the list of goods and services and that the application comply with the requirements for an application to become pending.

We check for example

  • if the application includes required identification details of the applicant and the representative
  • if the goods and services have been indicated in a clear and exact manner and their class or classes are specified correctly
  • if the correct application fee has been paid
  • if the application includes a clear and precise representation of the mark.

If your application involves deficiencies or is inconsistent, we will contact you and ask you to complete it or correct the formal deficiencies.

Examination of the proposed mark

After the formal examination, we start the actual examination.

We compare the mark with all trademarks protected in Finland – we search for similar national trademarks, EU trademarks, and international trademark registrations designating Finland or the European Union. We compare the mark with marks that cover at least similar goods and services. We use an examination search engine.

We also check whether the mark has a distinctive character. We search for the mark and its parts using both search engines on the internet and dictionaries and assess the mark as a whole to get an idea of whether the mark has a distinctive character for the proposed goods and services. Read more about distinctive character.

In addition, we examine whether there are any other obstacles to registration. Such obstacles may include company names or that the proposed mark is contrary to accepted principles of morality, is misleading in terms of the goods and services or includes a national emblem.

After the actual processing, we register the mark and publish it in the Trademark Gazette if there are no obstacles to the registration.

Registration and publication

If there are no obstacles to the registration found in the search, or if you have overcome the obstacles, the trademark will be approved and registered. We will publish the mark in the Trademark Gazette, and send you a registration certificate.

The opposition period of two months begins on the publication date of the registration. During the opposition period anyone can file an opposition against the registered mark. The grounds for the opposition may be, for instance, that there is a risk of confusion between your mark and the opponent’s established trademark that we have not been aware of. Read more about oppositions.

Office action

If we find obstacles to the registration or if there are deficiencies in your application, we will issue an office action about the obstacles.

We cannot issue a final decision until after an office action. Then the mark is registered or it is rejected either in part or in full.

If you do not respond to the office action, we will dismiss the matter and the processing will end. An application can be dismissed either in part or in full.

Read more about office actions.

Read more about the requirements for registration.

Rejection of application

If you have not been able to overcome all the obstacles to registration, your mark will be rejected in terms of those parts that include obstacles. If you disagree with the decision, you can lodge an appeal with the Finnish Market Court and further with the Supreme Administrative Court. When you have used all possible ways to appeal and the final decision is still a refusal, only those parts of the mark will be registered that do not include any obstacles.

In part or in full?

An office action or a dismissal or rejection decision may apply to all goods and services for a mark or only to some of them.

If the obstacle to registration applies to all of the goods and services, the mark is not registered at all.

If the obstacle only applies to some of the goods and services, the mark is registered at the end of the registration process for the goods and services the obstacle does not apply to.

Withdrawal of application

A pending application can be withdrawn free of charge. Use our online service in Finnish and in Swedish to withdraw your application.Open link in a new tab

When can I speed up the processing?

You can accelerate the processing of your trademark application only for very weighty reasons. Such reasons include, for instance, ongoing legal proceedings on the proposed trademark.

Bear in mind that the proposed trademark is conditionally protected from the application date (filing date) onwards. This means that if you file your trademark application today, it will get priority over an application filed tomorrow.

If you are launching your product in the near future, asking us to carry out a preliminary examination for a fee is a good way to quickly find out whether your mark can be registered for the goods and services concerned. You will get the examination results within a couple of days. Read more about preliminary examinations.

Validity of registration

If the application became pending before 1 May 2019

The registration is valid for 10 years from the registration date. You can renew your trademark registration every 10 years.

If the application became pending 1 May 2019 or later

The registration is valid for 10 years from the application date (filing date). You can renew your trademark registration every 10 years.


Printable version Latest update 16.08.2022