Austria · Licensing
Trademark Registration
in Austria
We prepare and file Austrian trademark applications at the Österreichisches Patentamt, and we run the clearance and renewal work around them.
- State fee EUR 294 online, up to three classes included (PAG § 22)
- Ten years from the filing date, not from registration (MSchG § 19 Abs. 1)
- The office does not check for earlier trademarks (MSchG § 20 Abs. 1)
- Three months to oppose, from publication of the registration (MSchG § 29a Abs. 1)
What we do on an Austrian trademark, and what we do not
MSchG § 1 admits signs of any kind: words, personal names, images, letters, numbers, colours, the shape or packaging of the goods, sounds, provided the sign distinguishes one undertaking's goods or services from another's and can be represented in the register clearly and precisely. The right is acquired by the entry, not by use and not by trading under the name (§ 2 Abs. 1).
We build the goods and services list against the Nice Classification, commission and read the office's similarity search, file, answer objections under § 20 Abs. 2, and diarise the renewal. If a licence is the real gate on your launch, start with how to obtain a crypto licence in Austria, investment firm license austria or what MiCA requires of a token issuer in Austria.
Four things we do not do:
- We are not a Patentanwalt and do not hold ourselves out as one. Where the law requires a lawyer, patent attorney or notary, we work with one.
- We do not guarantee registration. The office decides and § 20 Abs. 2 lets it refuse.
- We do not promise a filing-to-registration date. No statute fixes one.
- We do not tell you whether your sign infringes someone else's rights. That is advice on your own position, and Austrian law reserves it.
Austria registers first and lets owners object afterwards
This one fact decides how the work is sequenced. MSchG § 20 Abs. 1 has the office examine every application for lawfulness, meaning the absolute bars in § 4: no distinctive character, descriptive, customary, contrary to public policy, deceptive, a state emblem. Earlier trademarks are not on that list. The Patent Office says so itself on its own trademark search page: earlier trademarks do not prevent registration, no such search is included in the examination procedure, and responsibility for judging interference with earlier or higher-ranking rights lies exclusively with the applicant.
The counterweight comes later. Once the registration is published (§ 17 Abs. 5, in the Österreichischer Markenanzeiger), the owner of an earlier right has three months to oppose under § 29a Abs. 1, and if the proprietor lets the response period lapse, § 29b Abs. 1 has the trademark cancelled without further procedure. Clearance is not something the office does for you later. It is what stands between a registered trademark and three months in which someone else can take it away.
What the service includes
Clearance before anything is filed.
The MSchG § 22 similarity search covers Austrian, international and EU trademarks and also lists identical company names. We commission it and read it against your launch plan.
The goods and services list.
§ 16 Abs. 3 wants a list precise enough to determine the scope of protection from it alone. Three Nice classes sit inside the basic fee, so it is drafted to that budget.
The sign in a form the register accepts.
Word, figurative, combined, colour, shape or sound. The representation rules come from an ordinance under § 16 Abs. 2 and Abs. 4; a file that misses them is a defect, not a refusal.
Filing and fee handling.
Electronic filing triggers the EUR 20 reduction in PAG § 22 Abs. 2. Class fees are calculated first: underpaying one forces a choice between paying up and cutting classes (§ 22 Abs. 5).
Answering the office.
A § 4 objection comes with a period to respond (§ 20 Abs. 2). Where it is lack of distinctiveness, § 20 Abs. 3 allows an appealable ruling that only proof of acquired distinctiveness will save the sign.
Representation where the law requires it.
An applicant with no residence or establishment in the EEA or Switzerland cannot act alone (§ 61 Abs. 4). We arrange representation meeting § 61 Abs. 1, and a lawyer, patent attorney or notary before the Nullity Division.
The ten-year diary.
Renewal window, grace period, opposition deadline and the five-year non-use exposure under § 33a go into a schedule on the day of registration, not when the office's reminder arrives.
How an Austrian trademark application runs
Only the periods the statute itself fixes are given as periods.
Decide the sign and the classes.
The sign has to pass MSchG § 1 and the list has to be precise under § 16 Abs. 3. Classes one to three cost nothing extra; the fourth and each one after costs EUR 75.
Clear it.
The § 22 similarity search costs EUR 105 for five classes. Read the statute's last sentence before relying on it: the answer is without bearing on the scope of protection of the signs involved.
File and pay.
The application is in writing to the Patent Office (§ 16 Abs. 2) and priority runs from the day of a proper application (§ 23). The state fee is EUR 294 online, EUR 314 on paper.
Examination for lawfulness.
The office tests the § 4 bars and nothing else (§ 20 Abs. 1). Doubts become a written invitation to respond; an unanswered or unsuccessful response ends in dismissal by order (§ 20 Abs. 2).
Registration.
The right arises on the day of entry (§ 19 Abs. 1). The register records the sign, its number, the filing date and any priority, the proprietor and representative, and the goods and services by Nice class (§ 17 Abs. 1).
Publication, then three months of exposure.
The § 29a Abs. 1 opposition period runs from publication of the registration (§ 17 Abs. 5). It can rest only on an earlier trademark (§ 30 Abs. 1 or 2), a mark well known under Article 6bis of the Paris Convention, or a designation under § 32a.
Ten years, then renewal.
Ten years from the filing date, renewable without limit (§ 19 Abs. 1). Each new period runs from the end of the last, whatever date the fee is paid.
Austria · national trademark
Seven stages, and only the periods the statute fixes
- 01 /
Decide the sign and the classes
The sign has to pass MSchG § 1 and the list has to be precise under § 16 Abs. 3.
- 02 /
Clear it
The § 22 similarity search. Its answer is without bearing on the scope of protection of the signs involved.
- 03 /
File and pay
In writing to the Patent Office (§ 16 Abs. 2). Priority runs from the day of a proper application (§ 23).
- 04 /
Examination for lawfulness
No statutory period
The office tests the § 4 bars and nothing else. Doubts become a written invitation to respond; an unanswered or unsuccessful response ends in dismissal by order (§ 20).
- 05 /
Registration
No statutory period
The right arises on the day of entry (§ 19 Abs. 1).
- 06 /
Publication, then exposure
3 months
The opposition period runs from publication of the registration (§ 17 Abs. 5 with § 29a Abs. 1).
- 07 /
Term, then renewal
10 years
Ten years from the filing date, renewable without limit. Each new period runs from the end of the last, whatever date the fee is paid (§ 19 Abs. 1).
It opens one year before the ten-year period expires and closes six months after it, a payment inside the grace period carrying a surcharge of 20 per cent.
Stages 04 and 05 carry an open bracket rather than a duration: no source read for this page fixes a period for examination, or for filing to registration, so none is shown. The opposition clock starts at publication of the registration, which is why a new Austrian trademark’s riskiest three months come after the certificate arrives.
Not sure how many classes your launch actually needs?
Send the sign, the goods and services and the countries you sell into. You get the class list, the state fee that follows from it, and whether a clearance search is worth running first.
What you will need to supply
- The sign: exact wording, or an image file if it is figurative, coloured or stylised.
- Whether a typeface, colour or layout is claimed, because that changes what is registered.
- The goods and services, described by what you sell, not by class headings.
- The applicant: the person or company to appear in the register as proprietor.
- The applicant's residence or establishment, which decides the § 61 representation test.
- Any earlier filing you want priority from, with date, country and number.
- The countries you sell into now and expect to enter, which decides the route.
- Any existing company name, domain or unregistered use of the sign, and since when.
- Whether you or the Austrian company holds the trademark, decided before filing.
What the Austrian state charges
State fees are facts of law, so each appears with the provision that sets it. Our own fee is quoted on request. The act is not the last word on the amount: PAG § 31 Abs. 3 lets the President of the Patent Office raise every fixed rate in it once a year by ordinance published in the Patentblatt, effective 1 July of the year of publication. The act sets the rate; the office's schedule says what is payable today.
| What | Amount | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Application, one trademark, online, up to three Nice classes | EUR 294 | PAG § 22 Abs. 1 Z 1 lit. a (EUR 270) less the EUR 20 electronic reduction in Abs. 2, plus a flat document fee of EUR 44 |
| Application, one trademark, on paper | EUR 314 | the same, without the electronic reduction |
| Each Nice class from the fourth | EUR 75 | PAG § 22 Abs. 1 Z 2 |
| Collective or certification mark, online | EUR 474 | PAG § 22 Abs. 1 Z 1 lit. b (EUR 450), same arithmetic |
| Refunded if the application does not reach registration | EUR 70 | PAG § 22 Abs. 3 Z 1 |
| Refunded if withdrawn before a written request to remedy a defect | EUR 105 | PAG § 22 Abs. 4, one and a half times the Abs. 3 amount |
| Similarity search, five classes, no VAT | EUR 105 | a service charge under PAG § 33, not a statutory fee; MSchG § 22 creates the search |
| Opposition against a registration | EUR 230 | the office's schedule of procedural fees, including a document fee of EUR 74; PAG § 23 sets the fee itself at EUR 150 |
| Renewal, individual trademark, ten years | EUR 700 | PAG § 24 Abs. 1 Z 1 |
| Renewal paid inside the six-month grace period | EUR 840 | PAG § 24 Abs. 2, a surcharge of 20 percent on any payment after the period ends |
| Madrid international application through the Austrian office | EUR 141 | PAG § 25 Abs. 1, or CHF 141 through Madrid eFiling under Abs. 2 |
Patentamtsgebührengesetz, BGBl. I Nr. 149/2004: § 22 in force from 1 June 2023 (BGBl. I Nr. 51/2023) and § 24 in force from 1 September 2018 (BGBl. I Nr. 124/2017), both read at source on 17 September 2026. The payable amounts, the document fees and the EUR 105 search charge come from the Patent Office schedule of application and publication fees, its procedural-fee schedule and its Markenähnlichkeitsrecherche page, read the same day. Where a schedule shows the paper figure as the cheaper one, PAG § 22 Abs. 2 settles it: the reduction is for electronic filing, so online is always the lower amount.
National trademark, EU trademark or the international route
Three routes, three owners of the rulebook: Austria, EU regulation, and WIPO in Swiss francs with Austria charging only for passing the request on.
| National Austrian trademark | EU trademark | International registration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it is filed | Österreichisches Patentamt | EUIPO | WIPO, through the Austrian office as office of origin |
| Territory | Austria | every EU member state | the countries designated |
| Basic fee, electronic, one class | EUR 294 including the EUR 44 document fee | EUR 850 | WIPO's fees in Swiss francs, plus EUR 141 or CHF 141 to Austria |
| Classes in the basic fee | three | one | as designated |
| Extra classes | EUR 75 from the fourth | EUR 50 for the second, EUR 150 for each after that | set by WIPO and the designated offices |
| Term | ten years from the filing date | ten years from the filing date | ten years |
| Opposition window | three months from publication of the registration | three months from publication of the application | per the designated office |
| Renewal | EUR 700, plus 20 percent inside the grace period | EUR 850 electronic, plus 25 percent for late payment capped at EUR 1,500 | set by WIPO |
| Governing text | MSchG 1970 and PAG | Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 | Madrid Protocol; PAG § 25 for the Austrian part |
The EU column is Annex I, Article 46(1) and Article 52 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001, read at source on 17 September 2026: EUR 1,000 for an individual EU trademark application, EUR 850 by electronic means, EUR 50 for the second class and EUR 150 for each beyond two, the same on renewal, and a late-payment surcharge of 25 percent capped at EUR 1,500. Austrian law treats a right acquired under that regulation as equivalent to one under the Markenschutzgesetz (MSchG § 2 Abs. 3). The Madrid column carries no WIPO figures because none was read at source.
Austria · national against EU filing
What each route costs, at one, two and three classes
| What is being paid for | National Austrian trademark | EU trademark |
|---|---|---|
| One class | EUR 294 | EUR 850 |
| Two classes | EUR 294 | EUR 900 |
| Three classes | EUR 294 | EUR 1,050 |
| Renewal, ten years | EUR 700 | EUR 850 |
The Austrian application fee covers up to three Nice classes, which is why it does not move across the first three rows. The EU fee is charged per class above the first.
No figure is given here for the international route, because none was verified for this page. And the numbers do not answer the question that decides the choice, which is territory: an Austrian trademark stops at the border.
What goes wrong, and what it costs
Treating registration as proof the name was free.
The office tests only the absolute bars in § 4, so a certificate says nothing about earlier rights, and the owner of one has three months from publication to say so (§ 29a Abs. 1).
Letting an opposition go unanswered.
§ 29b Abs. 1 is blunt: no response inside the period set and the trademark is cancelled in whole or in part without further procedure.
Assuming the Firmenbuch entry protects the brand.
It does not: the right is acquired by entry in the trademark register (§ 2 Abs. 1). The similarity search lists identical company names next to trademarks, so the name check belongs before incorporation, alongside the ready-made companies rules and deadlines if you are buying rather than forming.
Counting the ten years from the wrong date.
§ 19 Abs. 1 runs the term from the filing date. The office reminds you six months ahead, but § 19a Abs. 2 says the reminder, or its absence, founds no claim. Marks registered before 1 September 2018 have a shorter first period.
Registering and then not using it.
After five years anyone can apply to cancel it for goods and services not genuinely used in Austria (§ 33a Abs. 1). Where no opposition was filed, that starts five years after the opposition period ends (§ 33a Abs. 1a).
Want the clearance result before you commit to the name?
Send the sign and the goods and services. We run the Patent Office similarity search, read it against your launch plan, and tell you whether the name is worth filing or worth changing.
How this page is kept accurate
Last updated 17 September 2026. Every figure carries the paragraph that sets it, the gazette reference where it has one, and the date that version took effect. The Markenschutzgesetz 1970 and the Patentamtsgebührengesetz were read at source that day through the Federal Chancellery's RIS open data, and the payable amounts checked against the Patent Office's own schedules. We are not a patent attorney firm and we are not the Patent Office. Only the office decides, and it can refuse. Our fee is quoted on request.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to register a trademark in Austria?
The state fee for one national trademark is EUR 294 filed online and EUR 314 on paper, each including a flat document fee of EUR 44. Both cover up to three Nice classes; each class from the fourth costs EUR 75. The amounts come from PAG § 22 Abs. 1 and Abs. 2 and from the Patent Office's published schedule. Our own fee is quoted on request.
Does the Austrian Patent Office check whether an identical or similar trademark already exists?
No. MSchG § 20 Abs. 1 has the office examine an application for lawfulness, which covers the absolute bars in § 4, not earlier rights. The office states the consequence itself: the existence of earlier trademarks does not prevent registration, no such search is part of the examination, and responsibility for judging whether an application infringes earlier or higher-ranking rights lies solely with the applicant.
How do I check whether a name is already a trademark in Austria?
The Patent Office runs a similarity search under MSchG § 22 and charges EUR 105 for five classes, plus EUR 25 for each further ten classes started, with no VAT. It covers Austrian, international and EU trademarks and additionally lists identical company names. The statute's last sentence is the catch: the answer has no bearing on the scope of protection of the signs involved.
How long does an Austrian trademark last, and how is it renewed?
Ten years, and the clock starts on the filing date, not on the registration date (MSchG § 19 Abs. 1). Renewal is for another ten years, without limit, against a renewal fee of EUR 700 for an individual trademark (PAG § 24 Abs. 1 Z 1). Each new period runs from the end of the previous one, whatever date you renew on.
What happens if I miss the renewal date?
There is a grace period. PAG § 24 Abs. 2 allows payment from one year before the protection period ends until six months after it ends, and any payment made after the end carries a surcharge of 20 percent, so EUR 840 instead of EUR 700. Miss the grace period and the trademark is cancelled for non-renewal under MSchG § 29 Abs. 1 Z 2.
What is the opposition period, and what happens if I ignore an opposition?
Three months from the day the registration is published (MSchG § 29a Abs. 1). An opposition can rest only on an earlier trademark under § 30 Abs. 1 or 2, a mark well known under Article 6bis of the Paris Convention, or a designation of origin or geographical indication under § 32a. Ignoring it is the expensive option: under § 29b Abs. 1, if the proprietor files no response in the period set, the trademark is cancelled in whole or in part without further procedure.
Can I file an Austrian trademark from outside the EU without appointing a local attorney?
Not without a representative. MSchG § 61 Abs. 4 lets a person with neither residence nor an establishment in the EEA or Switzerland assert rights before the Patent Office only through a representative who meets § 61 Abs. 1, meaning residence or an establishment in the EEA or Switzerland. Before the Nullity Division that representative must be a lawyer, patent attorney or notary. Using the office's information services needs no representative at all.
Should I register a national Austrian trademark or an EU trademark?
It depends on where the goods and services go. A national trademark covers Austria for a state fee of EUR 294 online including up to three classes. An EU trademark covers all member states for a basic electronic fee of EUR 850 for one class, EUR 50 for the second and EUR 150 for each further class under Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2017/1001. Austrian law treats an EU trademark as equivalent to a national one (MSchG § 2 Abs. 3).
Is the opposition procedure the same for an EU trademark?
The deadline is three months in both systems, but it attaches to different events. Article 46(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 runs the three months from publication of the EU trademark application, so an opposition is decided before registration. MSchG § 29a Abs. 1 runs them from publication of the registration, so an Austrian trademark is registered first and can be attacked afterwards.
How do I extend an Austrian trademark to other countries?
Through the Madrid system, filing the request for international registration with the Austrian Patent Office as the office of origin. PAG § 25 sets the Austrian domestic fee at EUR 141, or CHF 141 where the request goes through the International Bureau's Madrid eFiling system. The fees of the International Bureau are set by WIPO and are payable to it in Swiss francs, not by or to Austria.
Do I need an Austrian company before I can file a trademark?
No. MSchG § 16 Abs. 2 requires an application, not an Austrian company, and § 1 asks only that the sign distinguish the goods or services of one undertaking from those of another. Sequencing still matters: the applicant named on the filing is the proprietor entered in the register under § 17 Abs. 1 Z 4, and moving the trademark to the company afterwards is a separate application to change the proprietor, with its own fee.
Does registering my company name in the Firmenbuch protect it as a trademark?
No. They are two registers with two effects. MSchG § 2 Abs. 1 makes entry in the trademark register the way a trademark right is acquired, and a Firmenbuch entry does not do that. The Patent Office's own similarity search lists identical company names alongside trademarks precisely because the two can collide, which is the reason to check both before settling on a name.
Can someone cancel my Austrian trademark if I do not use it?
Yes, after five years. MSchG § 33a Abs. 1 lets anyone apply to cancel a trademark that has not been genuinely used in Austria for the goods or services it is registered for during the last five years, unless the proprietor can justify the non-use. Where no opposition was filed, § 33a Abs. 1a starts that exposure five years after the end of the opposition period.
Request a trademark filing plan
Tell us the sign, the goods and services, where the applicant is resident and which countries you sell into. You get the class list, the state fee, the route that fits the territory and a clearance recommendation.
Where this page departs from convention, for the build and for review
- No prior brief or research existed.
research/deep/trademark-registration-austria.md,drafts/briefs/trademark-registration-austria.mdanddrafts/structure/trademark-registration-austria.mdwere written in the same pass as this file, so the usual "the brief says X and the page says Y" reconciliation does not apply. Every figure traces to a source read on 17 September 2026. research/_figure-verification.mdcarries nothing on trademarks. It was read in full: its entries cover court fees, corporate income tax, VAT, the FMA tariff, founder immigration, the ATU check digit, the Privatstiftung and WiEReG. Neither the Markenschutzgesetz nor the Patentamtsgebührengesetz appears in it, so nothing on this page is cited to it. The figures below are new to the project and no other page states them, which meansfigure_consistency.pyhas nothing to compare them against yet.- No comparative claim about other pages appears in the copy. The SERP was measured live and the measurement is recorded in the research file, not on the page. Where the ranking pages disagree with each other, the page states the statute and stops.
check_en_pages.pyreturns 7 of 8 clean and one known exception. The sixogd.ris.bka.gv.atdocuments pass as "German only, no English twin", which is correct for consolidated statute text, andpatentamt.atpasses as "no /en/ convention on this host". EUR-Lex fails with HTTP 202, which is the same behaviour recorded for/crypto-license-austria/: it answers every automated request with an empty 202 body. Annex I, Article 46(1) and Article 52 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 were therefore read through a real browser, which returns HTTP 200, and every EU figure on this page is verbatim from that read.- No duration is given for examination or for filing to registration. Nothing read for this page fixes one, several ranking pages give figures between two and six months, and the office publishes none, so the page and the infographic both leave that segment open and say why.