Welcome to Zacco –
a true European full-service IP firm

Do you need assistance with your intellectual property rights in any European jurisdiction? We can be your IP representative for the prosecution and enforcement of your European Trademark (EUTM), European Patent (EP), Unitary Patent and more.

We are 500 experts within the field of IP, including around 125 Patent Attorneys and 75 Trademark Attorneys. A single point of contact represents your gateway to Europe for all of your European cases.

We cover 10 European jurisdictions directly, including the EUIPO/EPO, UK, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Austria and Switzerland. Through our comprehensive network of trusted and vetted long-term global partners, we’ve got you covered almost anywhere on the planet.

Zacco as a leading firm and around 60 of our employees have been independently ranked by multiple leading IP resource centres and editorials. Together with over 150 years of innovative thinking and IP expertise, Zacco has an expert ready to assist you in nearly all areas of current or emerging technologies and physical or digital brand protection.

Trademarks

Our trademark attorneys can support you in registering your trademark in all European jurisdictions through a smooth process.

Patents

Our patent attorneys can assist you with drafting and filing patents in all European jurisdictions. We have experts in almost every area of technology.

Design

Drafting and filing a design or Design Patent in Europe is easy with the help of our design attorneys. We cover ten European jurisdictions.

Trademarks

Through our European offices and local expertise, we are able to file trademarks directly within EUIPO, UK, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Austria and Switzerland.

We have a proven track record for lodging and defending oppositions concerning EU trademarks before the EUIPO, including appeals, at all levels. Our specialists represent you in appeal proceedings before the Board of Appeals, General Court, and the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Are you concerned about an EUIPO office action and need expert help? We have specialists to overcome matters such as distinctiveness citations raised by EUIPO against EU trademarks.

Clients have one primary point of contact at Zacco who will cover all relevant jurisdictions, while we coordinate the work internally. Thanks to our extensive geographical coverage, we remain an efficient and cost-effective expert partner.

Patents

Many of our colleagues are authorised European Patent Attorneys and Zacco can provide you with a specialist in almost every field of current and emerging technology, whether you work in life sciences, mechanics, green tech, digitalisation or AI.

We cover all jurisdictions in Europe, including the EPO, UK, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Austria and Switzerland directly. A single point of contact will handle all of your patent prosecution, ensuring a smooth and efficient process. Zacco is ranked as a Top Tier firm in several countries, and a considerable number of our patent attorneys have achieved individual recommendations from well-established IP rankings including Intellectual Asset Management, Managing IP and the Legal500.

Design

Alongside our reputation as experts in trademark and patent protection, we have multiple design experts able to assist you with the drafting and prosecution of your designs and design patents across Europe.

Designs can form an integral part of an IP portfolio, either as stand-alone rights or in the reinforcement of protection of other IP rights, such as when used by customs and border guards to assist them in the identification of counterfeit products.

Litigation, Disputes and Enforcement

When you need help with any legal IPR dispute in Europe, our authorised patent, trademark and design attorneys can represent you in multiple jurisdictions.

Unitary Patents

What does the Unified Patent Court mean for your European IP Portfolio? We can help you navigate all of the changes and any new regulations.

Validation, Translation, Annuities and Renewals

We take care of all formalities and payments connected to the validation, translation and renewals of IP rights within Europe.

Litigation, Disputes and Enforcement

If you need advice or assistance with defending or enforcing your IP rights across Europe, Zacco can help. We have experts in all forms of enforcement from IP litigation, to dispute matters, to anti-counterfeiting and the removal of online infringement. We can represent you directly at the EUIPO/EPO and within Germany, Norway, Sweden and Denmark and, unlike many traditional law firms, we work primarily within intellectual property, meaning that we have both the legal and technical expertise in-house to successfully represent your interests.

In contrast to many IP firms in Europe, Zacco also provides a full range of cross-border IP legal services. These services are offered by a cooperation of law firms and lawyers working and sharing offices with Zacco throughout Scandinavia and Germany. Zacco’s lawyers have successfully represented international clients in proceedings before national courts and the European Court of Justice.

Unitary Patents

The patent landscape in Europe has changed with the launch of the Unified Patent Court on 1st June 2023. European Patents in the contracting states of the UPC will now have unitary effect, meaning that any revocation or limitation will apply to patents across all contracting countries, unless the patent has been specifically opted out. At the moment, a European Patent with unitary effect (i.e. a Unitary Patent) grants exclusive rights in 17 EU member states as a single territory.

We have a growing number of colleagues who are certified European Litigators and authorised to represent you in opposition proceedings before the Unified Patent Court.

For more information, reach out to our expert UPC team at upc@zacco.com.

Validation, Translation, Annuities and Renewals

International IP rights need to be managed and renewed on a regular basis and granted European Patents need to have a request for validation filed in designated national jurisdictions within three months of the grant date. This often requires payment of an official fee. In some countries, the filing of a translation of relevant parts of the patent application will also be required before validation. Our expert validation team has specialist knowledge of all local formalities and requirements. Whether you are interested in pursuing validation in specific countries or a Unitary Patent across contracting member states, we have the expertise, experience and capacity to provide a seamless process when securing your IP rights throughout Europe. For more information, contact our attorneys or the validation team directly at validation.europe@zacco.com.

Translations come in many forms and whether you need a draft agreement, a verified translation of court proceedings or a patent or trademark in multiple languages during prosecution, we can help. Many of our in-house team and trusted partners are certified translators or have other relevant academic backgrounds and, working within one of Europe’s leading IP firms, we have a detailed understanding of IP translations and their applications. For more information, or a quote, reach out directly to translation@zacco.com.

Don’t let your rights lapse. A single point of contact at Zacco represents a smooth, efficient and cost effective process for all of your validation, translation and renewal needs.

Tell us what you need!
We will find a tailor-made solution for your IP protection in Europe

For trademarks and designs, including litigation, enforcement and disputes as well as legal matters:

Magnus Ljungdahl

magnus.ljungdahl@zacco.com

For patents, including litigation, enforcement, disputes and strategy:

Michael Byström

michael.bystrom@zacco.com

For enquiries into validation, translation, renewals, annuities and IP data or invoice management:

Betina Hellemann

betina.hellemann@zacco.com

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European IP Glossary

European Trademark (EUTM)

An EUTM grants exclusive rights in the member states of the European Union (current and future). Requires a single registration, filed with the EUIPO.

European Patent (EP)

European patents are granted for some or all of the contracting states to the European Patent Convention (EPC). They can also be extended to the current extension and validation states. National validation proceedings might require translation.

Unitary Patent

Unitary Patent or more precisely “European patent with unitary effect” – A Unitary Patent is based on a granted European Patent and a post-grant request for unitary effect in the participating EU member states instead of validation proceedings. The new patent system including the Unified Patent Court (UPC) entered into force on 1 June 2023. Representatives before the UPC need special authorisation.

European Patent Convention (EPC)

The European Patent Convention provides the legal framework for an autonomous system for the granting of European patents through a streamlined procedure before the EPO.

Registered Community Design (RCD)

An RCD is a registered industrial design on EU level and grants exclusive rights in all EU countries for 5 years. One application filed in one language.

Utility Model

A Utility Model (“Innovation Patent”) is similar to a patent and meant for “minor inventions”, but can neither be obtained at EU level nor is it available in all EU member states. It can for example be obtained in Austria, Denmark, Finland and Germany, but not in Sweden, Norway, the UK or Switzerland.