5 common trademark filing mistakes and how to avoid them

A refused or lost trademark is rarely the result of bad luck. Most of the time, the problem starts with a small mistake that could have been avoided. Since every payment on the platform and every action with the office is non-refundable, it is worth knowing these mistakes from the start.

Mistake 1: Applying without a prior search

Many applicants file a trademark without checking whether an identical or similar trademark already exists. The consequences: an opposition from the owner of the earlier trademark, refusal, lost time and money, perhaps even a change of name after you have invested in it.

How to avoid it: check the name in the public search – the trademarks of Albania and Kosovo and the QKB and ARBK businesses – and do not search only for the identical name: try spelling and pronunciation variants too. In the application form, the name check shows you very similar trademarks and companies. Bear in mind that no search shows applications that the office has not yet published.

Mistake 2: Wrong classes, too few or too many

The trademark is protected only for the goods and services you declare. If you forget a class – e.g. delivery (class 39) for a restaurant or online sales (class 35) for a manufacturer – you may be left without protection precisely where you are growing. On the other hand, classes you will never use increase the cost, and the trademark may be revoked for them after 5 years of non-use.

How to avoid it: start from what you do today and from what you will realistically do soon. The AI class agent in the form proposes core, recommended and defensive classes, with the official WIPO 2026 terms. Read The Nice Classification.

Mistake 3: A descriptive or generic name

Trademarks that directly describe the product – “Fresh Bread” for bread, “Bio” for food – or that are the common name of the goods are not registered, because they belong to no one. Misleading signs are refused too, such as “Orange Juice 100%” for a drink without oranges.

How to avoid it: choose a name that is invented or unusual for your sector. If the name contains a descriptive word, make sure the rest is truly distinctive.

Mistake 4: Forgotten deadlines

A trademark can be lost even after a sound application, simply because a deadline passed. The deadlines to remember:

• 30 days after payment, to send the signed power of attorney;
• 3 months from publication, when others can oppose your trademark – and when you can oppose similar trademarks;
• 10 years, after which the trademark must be renewed;
• 5 years of non-use, after which the trademark is at risk of revocation.

Do not forget either that “published” does not mean “registered”: during the opposition period the trademark can still be stopped.

How to avoid it: reply in time to your representative's requests, save the dates in your calendar and use monitoring to learn in time about similar trademarks. For renewal, read Renewing a trademark.

Mistake 5: The wrong territory or owner

A trademark protects only where it is registered. A trademark registered at DPPI does not protect you in Kosovo, and Kosovo is not covered by the Madrid System: there an application to the Industrial Property Agency (KIPA) is always needed. Another common mistake is registering the trademark in the name of a person when it belongs to the business, or vice versa.

How to avoid it: apply in every territory where you sell or plan to sell, and decide carefully who the owner is in the “Applicant” step. If the owner changes later, the trademark can be transferred with “Transfer of Ownership”.

A few more mistakes worth avoiding

• Paying outside the platform. Pay only within trademark.al: by card or by bank transfer, the same total. The application is not sent for filing unless it has been paid, and payments are non-refundable – so check the details before you pay.
• Changing the trademark after filing. A new logo or a different name cannot be added to the existing application; the “Modification of the Mark” service covers only non-substantial changes.
• Not answering the representative. When the office asks for a document or a clarification, the representative writes to you in the trademark's conversation; a late reply can cost you a legal deadline.
• Accepting the risk without reading. When the name check finds trademarks that pose a risk, read them carefully before you accept the risk: the responsibility for a possible refusal is yours.

Checklist before you send the application

• I have searched for the name and its variants in all the registers.
• The name is distinctive, not descriptive.
• The classes cover what I do today and what I will do soon.
• The owner of the trademark is the right person or company.
• I have also planned an application in Kosovo, if I sell there.
• I am ready to sign the power of attorney and send it within 30 days.

If you have questions about any of these steps, the Help centre explains them one by one: the search, the application, payments and the power of attorney. And if you have a name in mind, start today with the search: it is the simplest and at the same time the most important step of the whole process.