The ETMD EP is a comprehensive training course designed to strengthen professional expertise in the field of EU trade marks and designs, with a special focus on the EUIPO’s procedures, practices, and tools.
Whilst the ETMD EP for practitioners focuses on practical legal training for IP counsel to assist and represent clients or employers in trade mark and design matters before the EUIPO, the ETMD EP for paralegals educates IP support professionals on managing all related procedural and operational aspects.
Besides fostering knowledge of the legal framework, the ETMD EP is aimed at creating a network of specifically trained IP professionals, thus facilitating EUIPO procedures.
The MARQUES Education Team has been involved in this educational initiative from its beginning in 2018, with Shane Smyth, José Amorim, Sandra Müller and Charlotte Duly serving as members of the Advisory Council and Examination Board as well as tutors and examiners in the programme.
At this year’s ETMD EP Alumni Event, alumni from both programmes, practitioners and paralegals, came together for the first time at the EUIPO's premises to celebrate, connect and reflect on the ETMD EP.
The event included presentations from EUIPO staff members, alumni and user association representatives, including a round-table discussion on the exciting topic of "Future of our workplaces and training needs" attended by Team Chair Sandra Müller on behalf of MARQUES.
For the MARQUES Education Team, the involvement in the ETMD EP has been a tremendously positive experience. It has been a great honour to work side by side with colleagues from EUIPO, Academia and other trade mark user associations and to share knowledge with colleagues from all over Europe who are passionate about IP and have the common goal of expanding their horizons beyond domestic jurisprudence.
The programme is aimed at increasing knowledge of the proceedings and practice of the EUIPO using the EUIPO’s tools and systems and improving the interaction between the EUIPO and IP practitioners. How could this work better than to get hands-on guidance directly from EUIPO staff?
And let’s not underestimate the fantastic networking opportunities in a field of law where we are counting on trustworthy relationships with colleagues from all across Europe and beyond. For more information, please visit the EUIPO website.
Picture reproduced with permission of EUIPO
Issue 179
The first MARQUES Design Symposium takes place in Frankfurt, Germany on 29 and 30 January 2026
Andreas Lubberger, a member of the MARQUES Famous and Well-Known Marks Team, provides a full report on the recent Judges Meeting in Munich
José Amorim, Sandra Müller and Charlotte Duly of the MARQUES Education Team could not be more delighted to have attended the very first alumni reunion of the European Trade Mark and Design Education Programme (ETMD EP) in Alicante on 24 October 2025
The MARQUES Brands and Marketing Team has published a set of guidelines for companies on the use of fluid trade marks
The expiration of the three-year non-use period following international brand owners' exit from the Russian market has emboldened certain bad-faith actors. These entities are increasingly filing cancellation actions based on non-use while simultaneously attempting to register confusingly similar marks
EUIPO has recently announced a new functionality on eSearch Plus, the opening of the Copyright Knowledge Centre, the launch of Early TM Screening and the details of next year’s DesignEuropa Awards
WIPO has published important information on the 13th edition of the Nice Classification and a new report on trust in IP
The MARQUES Education Team has published an interview with Sara De Toledo about her experience of attending the MARQUES Annual Conference for the first time
Read the MARQUES blogs for the latest trade mark news and analysis from MARQUES Teams. Recent posts include: