February 02, 2021 About the EUIPO
2020 Volumes & Service Charter Highlights
The global COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted and disrupted human societies. The first months of the pandemic provoked sharp decreases in the overall demand for the EUIPO’s main products. However, a robust recovery trend in EUTM filings, beginning in June 2020 and primarily led by a significant increase in Chinese demand, has mitigated the initial COVID-19 impact on the demand for EU IP rights.
The Office finished 2020 with a record 176 987 overall EUTM filings, representing a robust growth of 10.24 % v 2019. EUTM class filings also reached an historic high, with more than 438 500 individual Nice Classification goods and services classes accompanying EUTM applications. The overall growth was mainly driven by Direct EUTM filings, which saw a clear upward trend during the second semester of 2020, this despite IR filings dropping by 4.60 % year-on-year.
The initial negative impact of the pandemic on the overall demand for EUTMs is clearly visible in the following chart. A comparison of the monthly EUTM filing volumes in 2020 v 2019 demonstrates significant negative variations during the spring (March-May), followed by significant positive variations beginning in June.
There was a general upsurge in the demand for EUTMs covering medical, personal and public hygiene, entertainment and household-related goods, most likely driven by concerted global efforts to adequately meet the changing needs of consumers and health authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The record-breaking trend also applies to overall RCD design filing volumes (115 815), which grew by 3.62 % in 2020 v 2019. The overall growth was primarily propelled by IRCD inflows, which increased by 9.23 % year-on-year.
The Office was able to handle the significant increase in incoming workflow thanks to the extra efforts of the staff in both core and supporting areas. They truly demonstrated a strong team spirit and a real commitment to fulfilling the Office’s mission. Going forward, the EUIPO will continue to improve the efficiency of its internal processes and will intensify the use of cutting-edge technologies to enable it to effectively manage increasing demand or to handle any future disruptions.
Regarding the quality of the service delivered to EUTM and RCD applicants, the EUIPO has maintained remarkably good timeliness and quality levels despite the significant repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis on the Office’s internal operations.
This is clearly visible in the EUIPO’s Service Charter results, whose timeliness indicators recovered quickly from the initial impact of the pandemic (even though two extension decisions affected intermediate results), ultimately remaining 100 % in excellence or compliance levels both in Q3 and Q4. It is interesting to note that the quality KPIs remained at the usual positive levels throughout 2020, demonstrating the Office’s commitment to its clients, even under difficult circumstances.
2020 is also the year in which the EUTMs Cancellation Decision indicator went back to compliance levels in terms of timeliness. This was the result of all the measures taken and the close monitoring of each individual case
Finally, in line with the 2025 Strategic Plan objective of improving user experience and evolving with the digital era, the Office revamped the Service Charter web page. The Service Charter now has a new look that features simpler graphics, interactive categories and a quick summary. For more details you are invited to visit: https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/euipo-service-charter.
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