Acquiring an Exclusive Right to a Trademark in Finland

There are two ways to acquire an exclusive right to a trademark. Firstly, the trademark can be registered. Secondly, a trademark that has been established through use is granted a certain level of protection. An established trademark means a trademark that is generally known in the appropriate business or consumer circles in Finland as a symbol specific to its the goods or services of the proprietor.

In Finland, an application for registration of a trademark is submitted to Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH). An electronic application form can be filled in at the website of the PRH, which can also be filed electronically. The application fee can be paid online, and must be paid prior to filing the application. The trademark is registered if it is distinctive, there is no risk of confusion with other trademarks or business names, and if there are no other legal grounds preventing registration.

The most important characteristic of a trademark is its distinctiveness. The requirement of distinctiveness means that a trademark must be able to distinguish the goods and services of a certain company from the goods and services of other companies, and that it, accordingly, cannot merely describe the goods and services, or their qualities. Generic commercial terms or simple shapes, such as a circle, do not fulfill the requirement of distinctiveness either. In conjunction with the registration, it will also be assessed whether the applied mark may be confused with trademarks and company names already registered for the identical or similar goods or services.