The CP11 Common Practice on "New types of marks: Examination of formal requirements and grounds for refusal" was adopted by EUIPO's Management Board by written procedure in October 2020. It delivers a set of general principles and examples on the formal requirements of examination and grounds for refusal and/or invalidity regarding sound, motion, multimedia and hologram marks and the new ways of representing them.

The Common Communication document, which includes the CP11 Common Practice and complementary information, such as the implementation dates and processes for each participating office, was published simultaneously on the websites of the IP offices of the EU on 14 April 2021. The document is also available on the EUIPN website in all EU languages.

The CP11 Common Practice is the result of consultation and contributions from different stakeholders over the last two years including the working group, comprised of experts from the national IP offices of the EU, the EUIPO and user associations. To read EUIPO's announcement in full and for access to the CP11 documentation, click here.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.