The European Union’s trade mark offices have adopted two new Common Practices — CP16 and CP17 — that harmonise examination criteria across Europe. Their implementation at the OEPM on 16 April 2026 strengthens legal certainty for businesses and industrial property attorneys.
1. The Convergence Programme: the backbone of European IP
The European Union’s internal market operates on two levels of industrial property protection: the community system managed by the EUIPO, and the national systems of each Member State. Rather than a weakness, this duality is a strength of the European model — provided both levels speak the same language. It was precisely to ensure that coherence that the EUIPN Convergence Programme (European Union Intellectual Property Network) was established in 2011.
Its objective is to eliminate divergences in the way different IP offices examine and resolve trade mark, design and model applications. Over the years, significant milestones have been reached: the network now brings together more than 200 experts from national and regional offices, user associations and international bodies; and in January 2022 the network surpassed one thousand implemented tools, services, certifications and common practices.
From the perspective of intangible rights, the Convergence Programme represents a firm commitment to systemic efficiency: it is not enough for protection to exist; that protection must be predictable, consistent and comparable across all 27 Member States. A trade mark refused in Spain for being descriptive should not succeed in Germany or France for the same reason — and vice versa. Common Practices are the technical instrument that makes this ambition possible.
2. CP16 and CP17: the two new Common Practices
On 8 November 2025, the EUIPO Management Board unanimously adopted Common Practices CP16 and CP17, developed under the SP2030 Strategic Plan with the active participation of national, regional and user association experts including ECTA. Both represent the first generation of Common Practices under this new strategic cycle.
CP16 — Signs describing the subject matter of goods and/or services
Article 4(1)(c) of the Trade Mark Directive prohibits the registration of signs that serve to designate, in trade, characteristics of goods or services — including their subject matter. However, the interpretation of the concept of subject matter had not been applied uniformly across national offices. CP16 establishes a common definition and sets out the general principles for assessing when a sign describes the subject matter of the goods or services for which protection is sought, providing illustrative examples that guide both examiners and applicants.
In practical terms, this means that a trade mark application containing terms directly descriptive of the subject matter of a service — for example, a sign such as “REPAIR” for vehicle workshop services — will receive the same treatment in Madrid, Munich or Warsaw. Situations of arbitrariness that generated legal uncertainty and could distort the market are thereby eliminated.
CP17 — The distinctive character of slogans
Slogans are one of the most complex sign types from an examination standpoint, and one of the areas where divergence between offices has historically been greatest. CP17 introduces a harmonised definition of the concept of a slogan and establishes a non-exhaustive list of relevant factors for assessing its distinctive character under Article 4(1)(b) of the Trade Mark Directive.
Whether a slogan can function as a trade mark — that is, whether consumers will perceive it as an indicator of commercial origin rather than a mere advertising message — depends on factors such as its linguistic originality, the absence of purely laudatory content, or the acquisition of distinctiveness through use. The Common Practice systematises these factors and incorporates concrete examples, providing an invaluable tool for legal practitioners and businesses when designing their brand strategy.
3. Why do they improve the efficiency of intangible rights protection?
The adoption of CP16 and CP17 is not a mere bureaucratic exercise. Their effects on the efficiency of the intangible rights protection system are concrete and measurable across at least four dimensions:
- Greater predictability in examination. Businesses and their representatives can more accurately anticipate the outcome of an application. The number of unexpected objections and contradictory rulings between offices is reduced, lowering the cost of registration strategy and minimising litigation.
- Reduced fragmentation of the internal market. A trade mark registered in one Member State under the new harmonised criteria has a greater likelihood of obtaining equivalent protection throughout the European territory, facilitating cross-border business expansion without the need for differentiated strategies by country.
- Transparency for examiners and users alike. The Common Communications are publicly available in all 23 EU languages. This means any applicant — regardless of size or resources — can consult the applicable criteria, reducing information asymmetries between large corporations and SMEs.
- Solid jurisprudential foundation. Both practices are built upon principles drawn from relevant judicial decisions at European level, giving them enhanced legitimacy and aligning them with the courts’ interpretation. The criteria do not arise from administrative discretion but from living law.
4. Implementation in Spain: key date of 16 April 2026
The Spanish Patent and Trade Mark Office (OEPM) will implement CP16 and CP17 on 16 April 2026, in line with the Q1 2026 timeline agreed between national offices and the EUIPO. From that date, OEPM examiners will apply the new harmonised criteria when assessing the descriptiveness of signs and the distinctive character of slogans.
For companies with pending applications or in the preparation stage, now is the time to review their files in light of the new criteria. For those planning new applications — particularly those involving slogans or potentially descriptive signs — knowledge of CP16 and CP17 becomes a first-order strategic asset.
5. Closing thoughts
The convergence of industrial property practices is not an end in itself, but a means of building a truly integrated European market for intangible rights. In a context where the EUIPO received a record-breaking 327,000 trade mark and design applications in 2025, system coherence is not merely desirable: it is indispensable.
CP16 and CP17 represent another step in that direction. They do not resolve all divergences — the path to full harmonisation is long and complex — but they do establish common ground in two particularly contentious and frequent areas: descriptiveness of subject matter and distinctiveness of slogans. At Marques & Ferrer, we will monitor their practical application closely and are available to support our clients in adapting their brand strategies accordingly.