In the first half of 2026 METIDA filed 1,108 European Union trade mark applications. That is the second highest figure in the European Union among all firms representing clients before the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), and the only place in the top ten held by a firm from the Baltic States.

The figures come from a review of EUIPO representatives compiled by Robert Reading on the basis of the CompuMark SAEGIS database. The Spanish firm Intermark Patentes y Marcas leads with 1,958 applications, while Cyprus-based Ioannides, Cleanthous & Co ranks third with 1,078.

Half-year results

Source: Robert Reading, “EUIPO Trademark Applications 2026 (01 Jan – 30 Jun): Top Representatives”

Among the 75 most active representatives before the EUIPO, 22 are based in Spain, 10 in Italy, 9 in Germany, 5 in Poland and 4 in France.

A record half-year for the EUIPO

According to official EUIPO figures, the Office received 104,263 EU trade mark applications between January and June 2026 – an increase of 8.4% on the same period in 2025. It is the highest half-year figure in the Office’s history, surpassing the previous record set in 2021.

Growth was driven by demand from within the Single Market: filings from applicants established in EU Member States rose by 14.6%. France recorded the strongest growth (17.4%), followed by Germany (15.2%), Poland (13.3%), Italy (11.8%) and Spain (11.5%). The share of applications originating in the EU rose from 57.4% to 60.7% year on year.

China remains the single largest country of origin for applicants, although filings from China fell by 12.4%. This redistribution – a growing European flow and a contracting Chinese one – is what explains most of the movement in the figures of the largest EUIPO representatives this year.

EU design applications totalled 61,951 over the half-year, a decline of 1% compared with 2025.

What this means for trade mark owners

A single EU trade mark is valid in all 27 Member States, so rising filing volumes also mean a more crowded register: free space for each new mark is harder to find, and owners of earlier rights are turning to opposition proceedings more often.

The practical conclusion has not changed for several years. Before filing, it is worth running a search for earlier marks and drafting the list of goods and services precisely. Imprecise classification is the most common reason an application stalls in examination – or fails to support the mark later, in a dispute.

METIDA represents clients before the EUIPO, the national offices of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and the United Kingdom, and in the international WIPO system – from searches and filing through to oppositions, cancellation actions and enforcement. A substantial share of our EU filing work comes through foreign associates who rely on us as their European filing partner.

Sources

• Robert Reading, “EUIPO Trademark Applications 2026 (01 Jan – 30 Jun): Top Representatives”, data from CompuMark SAEGIS – post on LinkedIn
• EUIPO, “EU trade marks push IP filings to a record high in the first half of 2026”, 7 July 2026.