Surge in Green Trade Mark Filings Reflects Growing Sustainability Focus
According to a study by the EUIPO and the European Observatory on Infringements of IP Rights, in 2021, a record 18,726 green EU trade marks (EUTMs) were filed at the EUIPO, representing 12% of all EUTM applications that year.
The report highlights that non-EU countries notably China, South Korea, Switzerland, the UK, and the US—file a greater proportion of green EUTMs (14.1%) than EU Member States (10.6%). Within the EU, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland led green filings.
Since 2015, most green EUTMs fall into the categories of “Energy conservation” and “Energy production,”accounting for nearly half (48%) of all filings. “Pollution control” (18%) and “Transportation” (11%) follow.
Large companies are slightly more active in green branding: 13% of their EUTM filings are green, compared to10% for SMEs. In 2021 alone, those numbers rose to 14.6% for large firms and 11.2% for SMEs, indicating a growing commitment across all business sizes.
The study’s findings are based on an algorithm that analyzed nearly 70 million terms from all EUTM applications since 1996, identifying green marks as using at least one term from a list of over 900 expertdefined green terms. More info on the link