Why Trade Mark Registration Is Worth It: The Risks Of Neglecting It

Trade mark registration is one of the most cost-effective legal steps a business can take — and one of the most frequently overlooked. This guide explains what trade mark registration offers (in Greece or as an EU trade mark), what protection exists in the absence of registration, and how a small or medium-sized enterprise can substantially reduce registration costs through EU subsidies.

I. What Value Can a Trade Mark Carry?

What connection might there be between the value of trade marks such as those of Apple, Amazon and Google and the GDP of entire nations? According to the Interbrand Best Global Brands 2025 ranking, the combined value of the Apple, Amazon and Google marks amounts to approximately USD 1.1 trillion.

The significance of trade marks — particularly in the modern economy — is far greater than one might assume. In quantitative terms, data from the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) and the EPO (European Patent Office) indicate that intellectual-property-intensive industries account for nearly 48% of EU GDP and approximately one in three jobs.

The reasons why a trade mark benefits a business are manifold. Registration of a sign undoubtedly secures and maintains a defined connection with the consumer public. The proprietor, moreover, knowing that it has acquired an exclusive right in the mark — in which its expenditure and, more broadly, its progress will necessarily be embodied — acts not only with far greater certainty but also with an additional incentive for continuous improvement. The expression coined in academic literature, referring to the “protection of business performance,” is particularly apt. As the explanatory memorandum to the new Trade Marks Act (Law 4679/2020) also notes, “the absence of adequate legal protection for industrial property rights constitutes a disincentive to research, since without such protection no one can commercially exploit the new knowledge they generate, and for that reason there is no incentive to invest in research and innovation.”

In light of the foregoing, the particular attention that businesses devote to safeguarding their trade marks against potential infringement is entirely justified.

What Constitutes Trade Mark Infringement

The term “trade mark infringement” encompasses, by way of example, the case in which a specific sign has been registered as a trade mark — intended to distinguish certain goods — and yet a third party places on the market the same goods bearing the same sign (the classic “counterfeit products” scenario), as well as the case in which the sign and the goods are merely similar (e.g. slightly different goods bearing a slightly different sign), yet — taking into account further criteria — capable of causing confusion in the mind of the relevant public as to the commercial origin of the goods. These are characteristic, though not exhaustive, instances of trade mark infringement. Where a trade mark with a reputation is concerned, the scope of infringement extends even further (protection may, for example, extend to cases where the identical or similar sign distinguishes entirely different goods or services).

Protection of a trade mark may be afforded preventively, through litigation, through extra-judicial means, or even through unilateral action.

II. Trade Mark Registration Subsidies: The Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund

Intellectual property rights in general — including trade marks — play a decisive role in a business’s development trajectory. Businesses aiming for dynamic market entry are significantly assisted by investing in their brand identity (as this is how they present themselves in the competitive arena), while simultaneously ensuring that no third party may infringe upon it. Securing exclusive rights of use, furthermore, provides a stable environment for business planning and development. Trade mark registration is also relevant for financing purposes.

Recognising this reality, the EU continues to operate a subsidy programme for intellectual property activities, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The “Ideas Powered for Business SME Fund” is a grant scheme designed to help European SMEs access intellectual property rights. For 2026, the programme provides for savings of up to 75% on intellectual property right applications and up to 90% for IP Scans, covering fees at national, regional, and EU level. At the time of writing, Voucher 1 (for IP Scans) and Voucher 2 (for trade marks and industrial designs) are unavailable for new applications due to exhaustion of the relevant funding, while Voucher 3 (for patents) and Voucher 4 (for Community plant varieties) remain available.

In addition, SMEs may also avail themselves of Intellectual Property Pro Bono Services offered by specialists in intellectual property matters.

III. What Applies in the Absence of Trade Mark Registration?

Something that is not widely known is the following: the fact that a sign has not been registered as a trade mark does not mean that it enjoys no protection whatsoever. A sign is not protected solely as a registered trade mark; it is also protected as what legal scholarship terms a mere “distinctive sign.” The fundamental difference lies in the fact that, precisely because registration is absent, the condition for such protection is “establishment in trade.” According to settled case-law, establishment (or prevalence) in trade is found to exist when a non-negligible proportion of the relevant commercial circles perceive the sign in question as distinguishing a particular business.

In plain terms, even if the sign is not entered in the trade marks register through the statutory procedure (so as to give rise to a registered trade mark right), it may still receive protection as a (mere) distinctive sign. The question therefore naturally arises: “what, then, is the point of registering one’s sign as a trade mark?”

Why Trade Mark Registration Is Advantageous

Given the benefits it confers, trade mark registration is strongly advisable. The explanation is straightforward, if to some degree self-evident: the primary consequence of registration is that trade mark legislation becomes applicable. This brings with it a series of procedural and substantive advantages in enforcement, increasing the prospects of success in any potential dispute — and, to a significant degree, facilitating the work of legal counsel. This last point has implications beyond litigation: in the event of trade mark infringement, the stronger the proprietor’s prospects of success in potential proceedings — a factor which, even if not openly acknowledged, will be recognised and factored in by opposing counsel during negotiations — the more favourable any settlement terms are likely to be for the trade mark proprietor.

Registration Prior to Market Launch

A further possibility afforded by a registered trade mark — and one of considerable practical importance — is that it secures exclusive use of the mark even before the proprietor has placed its product on the market (and, in principle, for up to five years thereafter). In the absence of registration, protection would presuppose — as noted above — that the sign had already been established in trade. This is extremely difficult, if not impossible, where the product has not yet been launched.

A registered trade mark is therefore particularly useful for businesses that intend to operate across a range of products introduced gradually to market, as well as for businesses still at the incorporation stage or in research and development. It is not uncommon for businesses to have not yet launched a product while having already settled on the sign it will bear — upon which a significant part of their future course and strategy (including, for example, marketing policy) has been based.

By registering the trade mark, such businesses can ensure that their plans will proceed without unexpected disruption. For if no trade mark has been registered (and the product has not yet been placed on the market, or has been placed on the market but has not yet become known in trade in the sense described above) and in the intervening period a third party acquires a right in the same or a similar sign, the consequences for the business’s plans will be severe, as the sign will need to be modified to avoid infringing the third party’s newly established right.

Illustrative Example: Brand Protection for a Start-Up

Consider a start-up wishing to launch a social networking platform while still at the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) development stage. To protect the name of the platform without having registered a trade mark, a sufficient period of time would need to elapse after the service has been placed on the market for it to become known to the public. If, however, the start-up avails itself of the relevant mechanism and registers its trade mark, the desired protection is afforded — and, once registration is accepted, takes effect from the date of application.

Trade Marks and Financing

It is also worth noting what was alluded to above: trade mark registration may have beneficial effects at the financing stage. Attention to the procedures for acquiring trade mark rights is perceived by prospective investors as an indication of the seriousness of the venture, of foresight, and of organisational capability (cf. the position of angel investors). It is equally desirable to avoid disclosing at any stage of investment discussions that the trade mark or service name of the start-up will need to be changed due to a third party having acquired rights in the same or a similar sign in the interim.

Furthermore, the position of a business with a registered trade mark is manifestly more advantageous than that of a business compelled to pursue — always with uncertain outcome and at no negligible cost — litigation to invalidate a trade mark registered by a third party in the meantime, even where that business’s own sign had already been established in trade, albeit without formal registration.

The Trade Marks Register as a Preventive Shield

Publication of the trade mark in the register also operates preventively. Diligent businesses typically search the register before commencing operations. If the sign is not found there, the new business will commence its activities under that name and, in all likelihood, will take further steps: purchasing a domain name, creating social media profiles, and the like. It is predictable that, having taken such steps — and thus having already invested a significant sum — the new business will be far less inclined to stand down in the face of a challenge by the proprietor of the earlier sign. Registration, and the broad public notice that the register provides, thus reduces the probability of finding oneself in that unfavourable position; in addition to its other benefits, registration serves a deterrent function.

IV. Conclusions: Why Trade Mark Registration Constitutes an Investment

The foregoing leads to two principal conclusions:

1. A trade mark is an important development tool for a business and a core asset with significant potential. Data and studies demonstrate that it generates returns — a fact recognised by the market itself: according to EUIPO data, since the EU trade mark system commenced operations in 1996, when applications numbered approximately 43,000, EU trade mark applications reached nearly 197,000 in 2025. Moreover, the cost of registration is far from prohibitive, whether for a national mark or an EU trade mark. For SMEs in particular, registration costs can be substantially reduced to the extent that a subsidy programme is available, for the reasons set out above.
2. A trade mark requires protection. As with any asset, misappropriation is regrettably often tempting — and the infringing party may not even be aware that it is infringing a third party’s mark (having, for example, no knowledge of its existence). Prompt identification of matters capable of prejudicing the mark affords the business a secure foundation upon which to build its efforts, endeavours and innovations. Protection is not exclusively judicial — though litigation will be the most common recourse, particularly where more conciliatory avenues have proven fruitless.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.