Glossary
French: EUIPO (Office de l'Union européenne pour la propriété intellectuelle)
The EUIPO — European Union Intellectual Property Office — is the office created by the European Union to administer European Union trademarks and Community designs. Think of it as the USPTO’s counterpart for EU-wide trademark rights. The acronym EUIPO is used in all languages. The office was previously called OHIM (Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market; OHMI in French). It is located in Alicante, Spain, and all proceedings can be conducted entirely online. The EUIPO continuously develops tools for users, such as databases and goods-and-services comparison tools, and cooperates with national offices, notably the INPI.
A mark filed at the EUIPO can be converted if it is rejected following an opposition based on a national mark. The EUIPO transmits the file to national offices, and the applicant can convert its EU application into national applications while keeping the original EU filing date. Example: an EU application defeated by an opposition based on a Spanish mark can be converted into a French application — and into national applications in every EU country except Spain. Conversion softens the “all or nothing” character of the EU trademark: losing an opposition does not mean losing every market.
The seniority claim — recording an earlier national mark (for example, a French INPI registration) against an EUTM — is another bridge between the national and EU levels.
See also: EU trademark registration, EUIPO opposition, glossary: EUIPO opposition.