Climate change and other environmental issues are currently big concerns in the European Union and beyond. These issues are becoming increasingly important in politics, in business and in public debate.  Intellectual Property (IP) plays an important role in the accomplishment of European Green Deal objectives that aim to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.

European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has recently released an update of an earlier study that analyses green EU trade marks (EUTMs). The study finds that the share of green EUTMs in overall EUTM filings increased to 12%.

Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland have been the top green EUTM filing nations in 2021 in the EU. Non-EU countries however, mainly China, South Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, have filed a higher proportion of green EUTMs than Member States (14.1 % v 10.6 %).

According to the report, the main product groups among the green EUTMs filed have been “Energy conservation” and “Energy production” which together account for more than 48 % of green EUTM filings. This is followed by “Pollution control” with 18% of filings and “Transportation” with 11%.