Imagine the following scenario: You've spent years building your business. You've invested in advertising, you have loyal customers and your logo is recognizable. One day, you receive an out-of-court letter that forbids you from using your business name because someone else legally registered it before you did.
This phenomenon, known as trademark squatting (trademark infringement) or bad faith registration, is more common than you think.
Here's what can happen and how you can react.
The Direct Consequences
In Greece and the European Union, the principle of “First-to-File” (priority is given to the first to file the application), not the first to use it (with some exceptions). If someone gets ahead of you in registering your mark, you face serious problems:
1. Prohibition of Use and Withdrawal of Products
The new “owner” of the trademark has the legal right to ask you to stop using the name or logo immediately. This can mean pulling products from shelves, taking down signs and removing promotional material.
2. Economic Blackmail
Often, those who register foreign trademarks do not intend to use them commercially, but to sell them back to the true creator. They may ask exorbitant amounts of money to transfer the trademark you created to you.
3. Loss of Digital Presence (Social Media & Domains)
With the registration title in hand, the third party can go to platforms such as Facebook, Instagram or domain name registrars and request that your pages be taken down or the URLs transferred to them, claiming copyright infringement.
4. Forced Rebranding
If no solution is found, you may have to change your name and logo from scratch. The cost of rebranding (new design, new packaging, customer information) is huge, and the brand awareness you had built up is lost.
Is there a legal salvation?;
Although the system favours the first filer, the law provides safeguards for cases of injustice.
The Concept of “Bad Faith Testimony”
The key to your defense is the proof of bad faith. If the third party knew that you owned the trade mark and registered it fraudulently (e.g. a former partner, employee or competitor who wanted to harm you or make a profit), you can take legal action.
What you can do:
- Interruption (Opposition): If you become aware of the application for registration early (usually within 3 months of its publication), you can file an opposition to block the final registration.
- Application for Invalidity/Registration: If the trade mark is already registered, you can go to the courts or the competent trade mark committee to have it removed, proving that you have used it before and that the third party's action was taken in bad faith.
Important: This process is time-consuming, expensive and requires strong evidence (invoices, advertisements, dates of use) to convince the court that you were already on the market.
How to Protect Yourself
Prevention is always cheaper than cure.
- Register your Mark NOW: Don't wait for the business to “grow”. The costs of registration are minimal compared to the legal costs of a dispute.
- Watch the Competition: There are services that monitor new trademark applications and notify you if someone tries to register something similar to yours.
- Register the Domains: Along with the trademark, buy the relevant domain names (.gr, .com, .eu) to shield your digital presence.
Conclusion
The brand is probably the most valuable asset of your business. Leaving it unprotected is like leaving your house unlocked. If someone registers it before you, the battle to get it back is difficult, but not always lost, as long as you have the right legal backing and proof of prior use.
