How to Register a Trademark in Cyprus: Process, Cost & Timeline (2026)

Last updated: 10 June 2026. Reviewed annually against the DRCIP fee schedule.

Your brand name and logo are often the most valuable things your business owns. In Cyprus, the way you protect them is by registering a trademark. This guide explains how to register a trademark in Cyprus from start to finish: who handles it, what it costs, how long it takes, and how to search the register before you file.

One quick point first. This article is about registering a trademark, not registering a company. The two are separate steps with separate fees and a separate authority. If you are setting up the business itself, see our guide to company formation in Cyprus. Here, we focus on protecting the brand.

Who registers trademarks in Cyprus?

You may still see the old name, DRCOR, in older guides and forum posts. The department was renamed to DRCIP under Law N.133(I)/2021, so searches for either name point to the same office. We mention this so you land in the right place whichever term you typed.

The Intellectual Property Section of DRCIP sits within the wider Registrar of Companies structure. That overlap is exactly why people confuse trademark filing with company filing. They share a registrar, but they are different registers, different forms, and different fees. Keep them apart and the rest of the process is much easier to follow.

How to register a trademark in Cyprus, step by step

The national registration process follows a set order. Here is the full journey, from first search to final certificate, based on the official guidance from the Intellectual Property Section.

1. Run a clearance search. This step is optional but smart. Check the Cyprus register, plus the EU and global databases, to see if your mark is already taken. The next section shows you how.
2. Prepare the application. You will need Form E.Σ 02, a clear graphic representation of the mark, and a list of the goods or services it covers, sorted into Nice Classification classes. A separate Power of Attorney is no longer compulsory for electronic filing, the standard route, since Law 63(I)/2020 removed that requirement, though one may still be needed for a paper filing.
3. File the application. A licensed Cyprus advocate files Form E.Σ 02 through the DRCIP e-filing portal. Under Cyprus law, only a licensed advocate may file, so this step is not a do-it-yourself one.
4. Formal examination. The office checks that the paperwork is complete and correct. This is an administrative review, not a judgment on the mark itself.
5. Substantive examination. The examiner now looks at the mark on its merits. They check absolute grounds (is it distinctive?) and relative grounds (does it clash with an earlier mark?). The section below on what can be registered explains both.
6. Publication in the Official Gazette. If the mark passes examination, it is published in the Official Gazette of the Republic. This opens the door for objections.
7. Three-month opposition window. After publication, anyone with an earlier right has three months to oppose your application. If no one objects, you move to the final step.
8. Certificate of Registration. With no opposition, DRCIP issues your Certificate of Registration. Your mark is now protected.

Start to finish, an uncontested application usually takes 3 to 12 months. The table below sets out the typical timeline stage by stage.

A word of practical advice here: budget for a process measured in months, not weeks. The examination phase is the longest stretch, and the three-month opposition window is fixed by law, so there is no way to rush it.

Because the filing step legally requires a licensed advocate, most applicants involve a lawyer from the start. You can learn more about our trademark registration services in Cyprus if you would rather have it handled end to end.

How to search the Cyprus Trademarks Register before you file

Although a clearance search is not mandatory under the Trade Marks Law, Cap. 268, registration can be refused on relative grounds where an identical or confusingly similar earlier mark already sits on the Cyprus Trademarks Register.

Put simply, search first so you do not pay for a mark that gets refused or opposed. A good search uses three free databases:

• Cyprus register: the free Search in the Trademarks Register service, run through the DRCIP e-filing portal.
• EU level: EUIPO eSearch, which covers EU trademarks that also bind Cyprus.
• Global level: the WIPO Global Brand Database, for international marks that reach Cyprus through the Madrid system.

A registered mark carries a unique trademark registration number on the register. That number is how the office, and anyone searching, identifies the mark and its owner. If your search turns up something close to your name or logo, that is a signal to rethink the mark or to get advice before filing.

A free database search is a strong start. It will not, on its own, weigh up borderline conflicts, like a similar mark in a related class. That judgment is where professional clearance advice earns its keep, because a refused application still costs you the official fee.

How much does trademark registration cost in Cyprus?

Official trademark fees in Cyprus are set under the Trade Marks Law, Cap. 268 and its Regulations. They are paid to DRCIP per application and per class of goods or services.

Put plainly, a national trademark costs €129 for the basic electronic application, which includes the first class, plus €94 for each additional class. On paper, those figures rise to €141 and €102. One class, filed online, means about €129 in official fees. The table below sets out the full schedule from the DRCIP Forms and Fees page.

Fees are drawn from the DRCIP Forms and Fees schedule and the e-filing payment basket. The €348 opposition fee is confirmed on the public schedule; other amounts are listed as “variable” there, so confirm the exact figures in the live e-filing basket when you file.

What this means for brand owners: your official cost is driven mostly by how many Nice classes you need. A single-class online filing is cheap. A multi-class brand, or a collective mark, climbs quickly, so it pays to scope your classes carefully before you file.

On top of official fees, most applicants pay professional fees for clearance, classification, and filing. We provide an indicative range and a clear quote on consultation, in line with the Cyprus Bar Code. Official fees can change, so confirm the current amounts in the live DRCIP e-filing payment basket before you file.

What can be registered, and when is a trademark refused or opposed?

Under the Trade Marks Law, Cap. 268 (as harmonised with Directive (EU) 2015/2436), a mark must be distinctive and non-deceptive. It may be refused on absolute grounds, or opposed on relative grounds by the owner of an earlier mark within the statutory three-month opposition period.

In everyday terms, your mark must be distinctive, meaning it can tell your goods or services apart from everyone else’s. It cannot be generic, purely descriptive, or misleading. If it falls short, the Registrar can refuse it.

There are two kinds of problem to watch for:

• Absolute grounds are problems with the mark itself. A word like “fresh” for food is descriptive, so it fails. A generic or deceptive mark fails too.
• Relative grounds are conflicts with an earlier mark. Even a strong, distinctive mark can be opposed if it clashes with someone’s existing rights.

Relative grounds are where opposition comes in. Once your mark is published in the Official Gazette, an earlier-rights owner has three months to file an opposition (Form E.Σ 14). This statutory window is fixed at three months, so be wary of older guides that quote a shorter period.

Is registration mandatory? No. You can trade under an unregistered mark. But an unregistered mark only gives you a passing-off claim, which is harder and costlier to enforce. The grounds for refusal and opposition are explained further by EUIPO and in Directive (EU) 2015/2436, the EU law Cyprus follows.

How long does a Cyprus trademark last, and how do you renew it?

Under the Trade Marks Law, Cap. 268 as amended by Law 63(I)/2020 (transposing Directive (EU) 2015/2436), a registered Cyprus trademark is protected for 10 years and may be renewed for successive 10-year periods indefinitely.

Simply put, your trademark lasts 10 years. After that, you can renew it for further 10-year periods, forever, as long as you pay the renewal fee on time. File the renewal in the final six months before expiry. Miss the deadline and the mark can be struck off, leaving your brand unprotected.

Here is the point where many online guides get it wrong. Older articles still say a Cyprus trademark lasts “7 years, then 14-year renewals.” That was the pre-2020 regime. Since Law 63(I)/2020 took effect, the correct term is 10 years renewable for 10. If you read the 7/14 figure anywhere, it is out of date. The change is confirmed in the WIPO Lex record of Law 63(I)/2020.

What this means for brand owners: diarise the renewal date the moment your certificate arrives, and set a reminder six months before expiry. A lapsed renewal is one of the easiest, and most avoidable, ways to lose brand protection.

National vs EU (EUIPO) vs international (Madrid): which route?

A national filing under the Trade Marks Law, Cap. 268 protects a mark only within the Republic of Cyprus. Broader protection comes from an EU trademark under Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 via EUIPO, or an international registration under the Madrid Protocol via WIPO.

In practice, a national Cyprus trademark covers Cyprus only. If you trade across Europe, a single EU trademark covers all 27 member states. To go global, the Madrid Protocol extends one application to more than 130 countries, through the 116 members of the Madrid System. The right route depends on where you actually sell, or plan to expand.

Our advice to clients is usually the same: do not over-buy protection you will not use, and do not under-protect a brand you plan to scale. There is also an edge case worth knowing, namely converting an EU trademark into a national Cyprus filing if the EU mark falls away, which preserves your filing date.

For the bigger picture on patents, copyright, and brand strategy, see our pillar on Cyprus intellectual property law. The EU route is set out in Regulation (EU) 2017/1001.

When to involve a Cyprus IP lawyer (and how Koufettas Law helps)

Cyprus law requires a licensed advocate to file the application, so professional help is not optional for the filing step itself. Beyond filing, a lawyer adds the most value at the points where money is actually at stake: reading a borderline clearance result, choosing the right classes, answering the examiner’s objections, and defending or bringing an opposition.

Harris Koufettas & Associates LLC is a boutique Cyprus business-law firm registered with the Cyprus Bar Association (firm Reg R.N.655). We handle trademarks alongside company formation, corporate and commercial legal services, and franchise solutions and agreements that rely on registered brands.

If you want the process handled properly from search to certificate, explore our trademark registration services in Cyprus or book a consultation.

Methodology and sources

The figures in this guide were collected from primary sources: the DRCIP Forms and Fees schedule and guidance pages, the WIPO Lex record of Law 63(I)/2020, EUR-Lex texts of Directive (EU) 2015/2436 and Regulation (EU) 2017/1001, and EUIPO and WIPO procedural pages. We cross-checked the fee figures against current 2026 Cyprus fee references. One limitation: the gov.cy Forms and Fees page labels some per-form fees as “variable,” so the exact euro amounts should be re-confirmed in the live DRCIP e-filing payment basket at the time of filing. This guide is reviewed annually.

Frequently asked questions