A new functionality of eSearch Plus was implemented on 14 November 2025 to improve the accessibility of Design-related non-confidential documents.
According to EUIPO, the documents are planned to be released in stages, starting with documents from 2025. From January 2026, documents from previous years will gradually be added, resulting in access to all previous non-confidential documents during the first half of 2026.
Correspondence submitted after 4 November 2025 will become automatically publicly available unless marked as confidential.
As indicated in EUIPO Guidelines on registered EU designs - Part A - General rules (chapter 3.1.6 Confidentiality), users can request confidentiality when submitting a document and at a later stage. In such cases, users contact the EUIPO Information Centre. The Office examines the confidentiality claim and marks the documents concerned according to the outcome.
Mikas Miniotas, Co-Chair of the MARQUES Designs Team, commented: “We are pleased that design users’ concerns regarding accessibility of design-related documents have been addressed. Users will now be able to access documents related to designs as they have been long used to for trade marks.”
BoA case-law research reports
The Boards of Appeal recently published a new case-law research report on “Similarity between food supplements and food/beverages”.
The case-law research reports are practical resources for all IP practitioners. They cover absolute grounds, relative grounds, designs and procedure and registry and can be found on EUIPO’s website here.
Copyright Knowledge Centre
On 20 November, the EUIPO launched the EUIPO Copyright Knowledge Centre, to bring together resources, provide guidance and develop tools to help creators and copyright holders better protect and enforce their rights in the digital age.
The Centre aims to bring clarity on ways to protect and respect copyrighted works and to reward the creators behind them in the age of AI.
It is also a hub for creators, developers and institutions to share insights and trends, exchange views on challenges, identify gaps and explore collaboration opportunities, while seeking technical solutions to the emerging challenges posed by generative AI.
The launch came during EUIPO’s first Conference on Copyright in Alicante on 20-21 November, which was dedicated to exploring the key issues shaping the future of the copyright landscape.
Early TM Screening
EUIPO has launched Early TM Screening, a new standalone pre-assessment tool designed to help users identify potential issues with their prospective trade mark. The tool makes the filing journey smoother, simpler and less error-prone through early detection of problems that could lead to refusal of a trade mark, helping users safeguard their financial investment.
Early TM Screening brings all pre-assessment checks together into one dedicated, user-friendly tool to be used before applying for a trade mark. This new approach, which partly involves AI tools, allows businesses, entrepreneurs and legal practitioners to prepare EU trade mark filings with greater confidence and efficiency. The results provided are purely for information purposes and non-exhaustive.
DesignEuropa Awards 2026
Applications are open for the 10th edition of the DesignEuropa Awards, which will take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia in September 2026. The application period runs from 10 November 2025 to 20 February 2026. There are four categories: Entrepreneurs and Small Companies Award; Industry Award; Next-Generation Design Award; and Lifetime Achievement Award.
Anyone can nominate a designer for one of the awards. The rules are available on EUIPO’s website here.
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: