Czech trademarks and IP: how to register

A company that spends two years building a name in Prague and then finds someone else has registered it is rarely the victim of bad luck. It usually skipped a search that takes an afternoon. A trademark is one of the few pieces of intellectual property that is cheap to protect early and expensive to fight over later.

This guide explains the routes available. It is a general explainer, not legal advice. For a brand you depend on, consult a trademark attorney (patentový zástupce, or a lawyer who works in IP).

What a trademark protects

A trademark is a sign that distinguishes one business's goods or services from another's. It can be a word, a logo, a combination, a shape, a sound or any other sign that can be represented in the register. Protection covers the sign for the goods and services you list, not everything under the sun.

Those goods and services are classified under the Nice Classification, an international system of numbered classes, and the classes you choose define the scope of protection. Pick them from what you sell and plan to sell, not from a wish to cover everything.

A trademark is separate from a company name. Registering a company in the commercial register does not give you a trademark, and that register does not check against trademarks. The same goes for a domain name. See the commercial register explained for what the register does.

Three routes

A Czech national trademark. The application goes to the Industrial Property Office (Úřad průmyslového vlastnictví, ÚPV) in Prague. The mark is protected in Czechia only. It is the simplest and usually the cheapest option for a business that operates only in the Czech market.

An EU trade mark. The EUIPO in Alicante grants a single registration valid in all EU member states, Czechia included. It suits a business trading across the EU, or planning to. The unitary nature has a consequence: a prior right in any one EU state, even a small one, can block the application or lead to cancellation. A Czech national mark can also be the basis for an opposition at the EUIPO.

An international registration under the Madrid system. Administered by WIPO in Geneva, the Madrid system lets the holder of a basic mark designate several countries, or the EU, through one application. The Czech office can act as office of origin for a Czech applicant. For the first five years the international registration depends on the basic mark.

The right route depends on where you sell. A Prague café needs a national mark at most. A software company selling across Europe probably needs the EU route. A firm selling in the United States or China will look at Madrid or national filings there. Each route has fees, which the offices publish and which change (as of 2026; check the official source).

Search before you file

Check for conflicts first. The offices publish searchable databases of their registers, and the EUIPO's TMview tool brings many national databases together, the Czech one included. Search for identical and similar marks in the same or related classes, in Czech and English, with likely spelling variants.

Check use in the market too. An unregistered sign used in business can give its owner rights in some circumstances, and an earlier company name or copyright claim can cause trouble.

What the office examines

At the ÚPV, under the Trademarks Act (no. 441/2003 Coll.), and at the EUIPO, the examiner checks the application against absolute grounds for refusal. A mark must be distinctive. Purely descriptive terms, generic names and signs that are misleading or contrary to public policy are refused. "Prague Coffee" for a coffee shop is the kind of name that struggles.

Earlier marks owned by others are not usually examined by the office. Their owners raise them, and can file an opposition within a set period after publication. A search therefore reduces the risk, but a clean register does not guarantee that nobody will object.

Priority and timing

A first application gives a six-month priority period, under the Paris Convention, to file the same mark in other countries and claim the original filing date (as of 2026; check the official source). If you plan an international rollout, file at home first and then use the period.

A mark is not registered at once. There is an examination, a publication period in which third parties can oppose, and then registration. The time varies with the office and the case, so plan in months, not weeks.

Duration, use and renewal

Registration lasts ten years from the filing date and can be renewed for further ten-year periods (as of 2026; check the official source). Renewal must be requested on time, with a fee, and the office publishes the deadlines.

Use matters. A mark that has not been put to genuine use for the registered goods and services for five years can be revoked at a third party's request. Keep records of use: invoices, packaging, advertising.

Other IP rights

Trademarks sit alongside other rights. Designs protect the appearance of a product, patents protect technical inventions, and copyright protects works automatically on creation, without registration. Our explainer on copyright and software ownership covers the last.

The opposition period is short, so if someone files a mark that conflicts with yours, you will need to move quickly. Set up a watch with the offices or your attorney, so a notice does not sit unread in an inbox.

Before choosing a name for your next product, run the search first and fix the classes second. That order can save the cost of a rebrand.

This is a general explainer, not legal or tax advice.