Trademark registration for Amazon: EUIPO step by step

For a brand selling on Amazon's European stores, the default route is an EU trade mark filed electronically at EUIPO: EUR 850 for the first class of goods or services, EUR 50 for the second and EUR 150 for every further class, protection in every EU member state, renewable every ten years. A national mark in a single country costs less but stops at that country's border. Amazon's IP Accelerator is not a separate kind of protection, it is a referral network of law firms. And you do not have to wait for a registration certificate before you enrol in Amazon Brand Registry, because Amazon accepts a pending application as well.

Below: how to choose between EU-wide, national and international protection, how the list of goods and services sets both your scope and your price, what to check before you file, the EUIPO procedure step by step with the timing you can actually rely on, an honest read on IP Accelerator, and a checklist to tick off before you send the application.

Fees, procedure and platform requirements checked at source in August 2026. This text is not legal advice. The amounts and deadlines come from Regulation (EU) 2017/1001, from WIPO's published fee schedule and from Amazon's own material, and every claim carries its source. Representation before EUIPO and before national IP offices is a regulated profession, so a borderline sign, a real risk of conflict with someone else's rights or an actual dispute belongs with a trademark attorney or a lawyer. Amounts are given in euros and Swiss francs, because that is how EUIPO and WIPO charge them.

Why a marketplace seller needs a trademark

Amazon does not grant rights in a brand, it verifies them. A trademark is a legal title that exists independently of any platform: it decides who can stop other traders using your name in the course of trade, and it stays with you when you change sales channel.

On Amazon itself the mark is the entry ticket to Brand Registry, and therefore the precondition for A+ Content, a Brand Store, part of the advertising suite and the infringement reporting tools. We cover what Brand Registry unlocks and how the enrolment itself works in a separate guide, so this piece stays on the step that comes before it: getting the mark in the first place.

Away from Amazon, the same right works on other marketplaces, in your own store and in dealings with customs authorities. One filing covers several fronts at once, which changes the arithmetic of whether it is worth the money.

It is worth naming the limits of that protection straight away. A trademark does not remove legitimate resellers who bought your genuine goods from your product pages. It does not release you from product obligations either, including the manufacturer duties that come with GPSR. It protects a sign, not a business model.

EU-wide, one country or the international route

The decision comes down to reach: where you actually sell, and where you will be selling in the next two years. Three routes are realistic for a marketplace brand.

The EUIPO amounts are set in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 and republished by the office on its fees and payments page. Filing on paper instead of electronically costs EUR 1 000 rather than EUR 850, and an opposition costs EUR 320. The Madrid amounts come from WIPO's schedule of fees, in force since 1 February 2023. Check both before you pay, because fee schedules are amended from time to time.

One structural difference gets lost in price comparisons. At EUIPO the application fee settles the first ten years: the next payment is the renewal. National procedures can work differently, with a separate fee due after a positive decision, so compare the total cost of ten years of protection rather than the headline filing fee.

Four questions that settle the scope

1. Do you sell in one country only, with no foreign markets planned for two years? A national filing at that country's office is enough and it is the cheapest option.
2. Do you have, or plan, at least two EU markets? Go straight for an EUTM. Two national filings cost more money and more work than one EU filing, and Amazon expects a mark from an office matching the stores you are enrolling for anyway. If your logistics plan already points at several European stores, for instance because you are weighing up Amazon Pan-EU, the question has effectively answered itself.
3. Do you need markets outside the EU? Get the home mark first, then add designations through the Madrid System or file directly at the office concerned.
4. Would you rather not look for a law firm and are happy with rates Amazon has negotiated? Consider IP Accelerator, but put it next to a quote from a local trademark attorney before you sign. More on that below.

Our rule of thumb: if there is even one more EU market in the two-year plan, an EU mark usually works out cheaper and simpler than a series of national filings. That is a recommendation drawn from the fee arithmetic and from running accounts, not a rule of law.

Before you pay, check whether you qualify for the SME Fund, the European Commission scheme run by EUIPO. EUIPO's own list of eligible fees for the 2026 edition includes the EUTM application fee and the class fees. The sequencing is what matters operationally: the voucher is applied for and granted first, and only then do you file and pay. Eligibility is limited to SMEs established in the EU, and the budget, the reimbursement rates and the application window are published by EUIPO, so confirm the current terms there rather than relying on any summary, including this one.

Classes: the list that sets your scope and your price

Goods and services are sorted into the numbered classes of the Nice Classification, maintained by WIPO. A new edition appears every three years and a new version of each edition every year; the version in force since 1 January 2026 is NCL(13-2026). The list you put in the application does two jobs at once: it defines the scope of protection and it sets the price.

For a marketplace seller the starting point is the class covering the goods you actually sell: the cosmetic, the toy, the kitchen tool. Brands running their own store often add the class covering retail and advertising services, which is reasonable, but it does not replace the goods class. A mark filed only for the service of selling protects the service, not the product.

Two mistakes cost the most here. A list that is too narrow leaves a gap for somebody to register a similar sign for the neighbouring category. A list inflated "just in case" raises the fee, widens the chance of colliding with someone else's earlier right, and exposes the mark later on: under Article 18 of the regulation, a mark that has not been put to genuine use for five years can be revoked for the goods you never sold. The practical tip is to build the list from terms the offices already accept in their shared classification database, searchable through TMclass, rather than inventing your own wording.

Clearance before filing: the office will not do it for you

This is where plans usually break. EUIPO examines absolute grounds, not other people's earlier rights. Under Article 42 the office checks the grounds in Article 7, which include signs devoid of distinctive character and signs that merely describe the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value or geographical origin of the goods. A conflict with somebody else's mark is a different matter: it only enters the picture if the holder of the earlier right files an opposition after publication, under Article 46. A search report listing potentially conflicting earlier marks exists, but under Article 43 it is drawn up at the applicant's request, not automatically.

So the conflict risk sits on your side of the table, and the fee is due whether the application succeeds or not. Before you file:

• Search the registers: TMview for European offices and EUIPO's own register for EU marks and pending applications, plus the register of any national office where you plan to sell.
• Look for similarity, not identity: an opposition can be built on a sign that is close visually, phonetically or conceptually for related goods.
• Test the distinctiveness: a sign that describes the product is an absolute ground for refusal. The textbook example is a word mark that is simply the name of the goods.
• Commission a clearance search from a trademark attorney when there is real doubt. It costs less than losing a dispute and reprinting your packaging.

The pattern is consistent: the more your name describes the product, the easier it is to market and the harder it is to register. Invented names go through smoothly; names in the style of "EcoShampoo" run into refusals.

The EUIPO procedure step by step

1. Electronic filing through the EUIPO site. Article 119(1) is explicit that nobody is compelled to be represented before the office, so you can file yourself or through a representative.
2. Language. The application is filed in one of the official EU languages, and you name a second language from the office's five working languages: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. That second language can become the language of opposition or cancellation proceedings.
3. Formalities and absolute grounds. If the office finds a ground for refusal, you get the chance to respond, amend or withdraw the application before a decision is issued.
4. Publication of the application. From that moment your sign is visible to everyone, including holders of earlier marks. Third parties may also send observations on absolute grounds, without becoming parties to the proceedings.
5. Three months for opposition. Holders of earlier rights have three months from publication to oppose. If an admissible opposition is filed, the case moves into adversarial proceedings and ends with a decision of the office.
6. Registration. Once the requirements are met and any opposition is disposed of, the mark is entered in the register and the registration is published. Protection runs for ten years from the filing date and can be renewed for further ten-year periods indefinitely.

One point that matters if your company sits outside Europe. Under Article 119(2), a company with neither its domicile, nor its principal place of business, nor a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in the European Economic Area must be represented before the office in every proceeding except the filing of the application itself. And under Article 120 that representation may only be handled by a lawyer qualified in an EEA state and entitled to act in trademark matters, or by a professional representative on EUIPO's list. In plain terms: a US, UK or Chinese seller can file, but from the first office communication onwards a qualified representative is not optional.

How long it really takes

EUIPO does not guarantee a decision date, so we are not going to give you a number of days. What can be derived from the shape of the procedure, and this is a conclusion rather than an office statement, is the floor: because a three-month opposition window runs from publication, a registration cannot land within a few weeks of filing. Plan in quarters rather than weeks, and file earlier than the date you actually need the mark. If an opposition is filed, the timeline extends and the outcome is decided by the office, so treat any promise of a registration date or a result with suspicion.

What you do not have to postpone

Registration is the bottleneck. Brand Registry is not. Amazon states that you need an active registered trademark or a pending application, in the form of a text mark or an image mark containing words, letters or numbers, and that requirements vary by country. Three things worth handling during the wait:

• Keep the application number and the office name to hand. Together with the brand name matching the mark exactly, that is what the enrolment form asks for.
• Agree the verification step with your representative, because Amazon typically sends the verification code to the representative named on the trademark application rather than to your own address.
• Leave the ® symbol alone until the right is granted. It signals a registered right you do not have yet, and rules on misusing it differ from country to country.

Amazon IP Accelerator: when it is worth it

IP Accelerator is Amazon's network of vetted IP service providers. Amazon does not charge for the introduction; you work with the provider and pay them directly at pre-negotiated rates. Amazon lists filings across 22 trademark offices and support in 18 languages, and states the benefit plainly: participants get access to a broader range of brand protection benefits sooner, even while the trademark registration is still pending.

The prices Amazon publishes are US prices: USD 700 for a trademark filing plus government fees, USD 650 for a brand search and USD 1 800 for a comprehensive brand review. For filings at European offices you agree the price with the individual provider.

Two things deserve to be said out loud, because marketing material rarely says them:

• The published list is national offices. It covers Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the UK and others, and the EU trade mark is not on it. If an EUTM is what you want, confirm with the provider before signing that they will file at EUIPO. A national mark instead of an EU mark is an entirely different scope of protection.
• The head start is narrower than it used to be. Now that Brand Registry accepts ordinary pending applications, filed by you or by your own attorney, the difference comes down to the range of tools and the convenience, not to whether you can get into the programme at all. That is our market observation, not Amazon's position.

Practical conclusion: treat IP Accelerator as one quote to compare, not as the default path. For a brand aiming at several EU markets, an EUTM filed with a local attorney usually makes more sense, because you get protection with the right reach and a conversation in your own language.

Five mistakes that cost the most

• A descriptive sign. A name that plainly describes the goods or one of their characteristics runs into an absolute ground for refusal, and the fee is gone.
• The wrong class, or one that is too narrow. Protection covers what you wrote in the list. Extending it afterwards means a new application and a new fee.
• Filing in the wrong name. A mark registered privately by one shareholder, by a company that later disappears, or by the agency running your sales, is a problem deferred rather than avoided. Amazon expects the brand owner to be the party enrolling.
• A mark that does not match the brand name on Amazon. The text of the mark has to match the brand name in Brand Registry exactly. A typo, an extra word or different capitalisation stops the verification.
• No use and no monitoring. The right has to be renewed every ten years and the mark has to be genuinely used, or it can be revoked after five years. On top of that, nobody will alert you when someone files a confusingly similar name, and the opposition window is three months from publication, so the registers need watching.

Checklist before you file

Tick all of it before you hit send. Order matters, because the first two points can change everything that follows.

• The name is distinctive and does not directly describe the product.
• Registers searched (TMview, the EUIPO register, the national register where relevant) for identical and similar signs.
• Scope chosen deliberately: one country, the EU, or the EU plus designations through the Madrid System.
• List of goods and services built from accepted classification terms, with the class covering the product itself.
• The applicant is the entity that should own the brand long term, and matches the owner of the Amazon account.
• The text of the mark is identical to the brand name used on your listings and in Brand Registry.
• The form of the mark meets Amazon's requirement: a text mark, or an image mark containing words, letters or numbers.
• The logo is permanently affixed to the product or packaging, and the photos are ready.
• Budget calculated in full: office fee, any attorney fee, and any post-decision fee in a national procedure.
• SME Fund status checked if you intend to use it, with the voucher applied for before the filing.
• It is settled who will receive office correspondence and Amazon's verification code.

Where Amazonway fits, and where it does not

We run marketplace brands through the Waypoint framework, and its third stage, WP 03 Launch, covers the formalities that can otherwise hold up a market entry. On the trademark side that means strategy and coordination: working out what reach of protection your sales plan actually needs, sequencing the filing so it does not sit on the critical path to launch, briefing the trademark attorney you appoint with the commercial facts they need, keeping an eye on dates, and connecting the application number to Brand Registry enrolment once it exists. Brand protection is one input into a launch, not the job itself: the rest, from listings and advertising to account health, is the day-to-day work we do as an Amazon agency.

What we do not do: we do not file trademark applications, we do not represent anyone before EUIPO or any national office, and we are not a law firm. Representation before EUIPO is reserved by law to lawyers qualified in an EEA state and entitled to act in trademark matters, and to professional representatives on the office's list. Clearance opinions, the wording of the specification, oppositions and disputes belong with your trademark attorney, and the legal call on whether a sign is registrable is theirs. Office fees and attorney fees stay with the brand owner, and decisions belong to the offices, not to us.

Talk to us about bringing your brand to Amazon →

Frequently asked questions

Is a pending application enough for Brand Registry, or do I need a registration?

Amazon states that you need an active registered trademark or a pending trademark application, and that pending applications are accepted subject to country-specific requirements. The mark has to be a text mark or an image mark containing words, letters or numbers, and the trademark text has to match the brand name on the enrolment. Requirements are updated from time to time, so confirm them in the Brand Registry portal when you enrol.

How much does an EU trademark cost for an Amazon seller?

The official fee for an electronic application is EUR 850 for the first class, EUR 50 for the second and EUR 150 for each further class, set in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 and checked in August 2026. Filing on paper costs EUR 1 000. There is no separate registration fee at EUIPO: the next payment is the renewal after ten years. Add any attorney fee if you use one.

Can I file at EUIPO myself, without a trademark attorney?

Yes. Nobody is compelled to be represented before the office. Filing yourself saves the fee but moves two risks onto you: a badly drafted list of goods and a conflict you did not spot. Note the exception in Article 119(2): a company with no domicile, principal place of business or real establishment in the EEA must be represented in every proceeding other than the filing itself, and only qualified lawyers and professional representatives on EUIPO's list can act.

Is a logo without any text enough for Brand Registry?

No. Amazon accepts a text mark or an image mark containing words, letters or numbers. A purely figurative logo with no text element does not meet that condition, even though it can perfectly well be registered as a trademark.

Someone filed a mark using my brand name before me. What now?

Holders of earlier rights have three months from the publication of that application to file an opposition, and the basis is the earlier right itself. That is why registers are worth monitoring continuously rather than checking once at filing. The assessment of your chances in a specific case belongs to a trademark attorney.

Sources

• Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 on the European Union trade mark, EUR-Lex: full text, including Annex I (fees), Article 7 (absolute grounds), Articles 42 to 46 (examination, search, publication, observations, opposition), Article 51 (registration), Article 52 (duration), Articles 119 and 120 (representation) and Article 146 (languages)
• EUIPO, fees and payments and the SME Fund (eligible fees for the 2026 edition include the EUTM application and class fees)
• WIPO, Madrid System and its schedule of fees, plus the Nice Classification
• European Commission, Your Europe: trade marks (national, EU and international routes)
• Amazon, Brand Registry and IP Accelerator