Fast track examination of the application in the OHIM

Since 24^th November 2014, it is possible to apply for a faster examination of a trademark application in the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) and get one’s application published within 4 to 5 weeks. A fast track application requires a trademark owner to select goods and services from the database of terms already accepted by OHIM; therefore, an applicant is not to come up with its own list of goods and/or services, but rather to choose from the list provided by OHIM.

There are two main conditions for the application to be treated as a fast track:

1. An applicant needs to select the goods and services to apply for from a database of terms already accepted by OHIM.
2. An applicant has to pay upfront. OHIM examiners can only start examining the application once payment has been completed. Subject to prompt payment and provided that there are no deficiencies at the moment of filing and during the examination of the application, the application will proceed via the fast track.

Please find a full list of conditions applicable in order to proceed with the fast track procedure here.