Authentication of EUIPO certificates

What is EUIPO and what are the documents that are legalised in the Commission Representation?

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), based in Alicante, is the official European agency responsible for the registration of trade marks, designs and models and guarantees their protection in all 27 countries of the European Union.

EUIPO issues certified copies of applications for European Union trade marks or Community designs, or of the documents contained in the files managed by the Office. It also issues certified extracts from the Register of European Union Trade Marks and from the Register of Community Designs. However, some non-EU countries require the legalisation of such certified copies, either for priority claims at national offices or for complaints to their authorities. These legalisations must be requested from the European Commission Representation in Spain. In accordance with the provisions of the European Commission, it is the Director of the Representation who has the power to legalize the signatures of EUIPO officials.

You can consult below the steps to legalize an EUIPO signature.. We recommend that you also contact the institution to which the documents are sent or the embassy or consulate in Spain of the country concerned, in order to determine which formalities are required according to the country.

These procedures follow the provisions of European Commission Decision Nº 2001/C 17/06.

How do I request the legalisation of an EUIPO signature?

The legalisation of a EUIPO signature can be requested through two procedures:

1.- At the European Commission Representation in Spain (Madrid):

If the applicant already has a certified copy, he can send it by post or go personally to the headquarters of the Representation of the Commission in Madrid. To this end, the applicant must enclose with the certified copy of EUIPO a letter stating: who is requesting the legalisation (with postal address and contact names), the country for which the legalisation is sought and the address where it has to be sent or, if the applicant prefers to collect it in person, an email address or a contact telephone number.

In the case of certified copies downloaded directly from the EUIPO website, care must be taken to ensure the printing quality of the copies, which must be in A4 format and duly stapled or bound.

IMPORTANT — when printing the documents, the “Identification Code” should appear on the right side edge of the inner pages and not be cut. If the “Identification Code” is not readable, the document will not be valid.

Only paper copies can be legalised. Electronic copies sent by e-mail are not accepted. 

2.- At EUIPO:

When requesting a certified copy from EUIPO, the applicant must specify that he needs the legalisation of the signature and for which country. In this case, EUIPO generates the document and sends it directly to the Representation of the European Commission in Spain for legalisation. The applicant must also specify the postal address to which the copy or copies are to be sent or, if he prefers to collect them in person, provide an email address or a contact telephone number.

NOTE: In the case of certified copies of Community designs subject to deferred publication, there is no option to send the legalised certified copies to an address other than that of the applicant, nor to collect them personally.

Where to request the legalisation of the EUIPO signature?

European Commission.

Representation in Spain.

EUIPO Legalisation

Paseo de la Castellana, 46

E-28046 Madrid Spain Phone (direct line): + 34 914238062

Switchboard: + 34 914238000

Although the request for legalisations by e-mail is not possible, you may address any questions to:

COMM-REP-MAD-EUIPOec [dot] europa [dot] eu (COMM-REP-MAD-EUIPO[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)

IMPORTANT — The Representation of the European Commission in Spain sends the legalised documents by normal mail. NO shipping is made by courier.

EUIPO’s webinar with detailed information on how to download certified copies and the legalisation process (duration: 20’).

How to proceed after obtaining the signature legalisation?

IMPORTANT — Once the document has been legalised and sent or delivered to the applicant, the European Commission Representation will not take any further action.

ALL SUBSEQUENT STEPS ARE AT THE EXPENSE OF THE APPLICANT AND UNDER HIS RESPONSIBILITY.

Once the applicant has received the certified copy legalised by the European Commission Representation in Madrid, it is possible that:

• The institution where the document has to be presented accepts it directly; or that
• The institution of destination requires the legalised document to be presented through the diplomatic channel.

In the second case, in general, the corresponding formalities must be carried out at the embassy or consulate in Spain of the country of destination of the document. In addition, some embassies, before accepting the document already authenticated by the European Commission Representation in Spain, request also a legalisation of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

For this reason, we advise you to contact the appropriate embassy or consulate in order to determine exactly the procedures to be followed.

NOTE: The consulate or embassy of the country of destination may refer to an “Hague Apostille”. This option is not available for EUIPO documents because the European Union as a whole is not a member of the Hague Convention and therefore the document needs to be legalised through diplomatic channels.

Does the legalization of documents have a cost?

NO. The legalisation of certified copies of EUIPO at the Representation of the European Commission in Madrid is free of charge.

Useful links

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)

List of accredited embassies and consulates in Spain (MAEC)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, page on legalisations.