# Practice profile: Intellectual Property — European Union

Orchestrator cold-start for plugin `eu-ip`. Loaded after `eu/CLAUDE.md`, before invoking a specific skill.

## Scope

EU-wide registered trademark rights: prosecution of EU trade mark (EUTM) applications and opposition proceedings before the EU Intellectual Property Office — absolute and relative grounds for refusal, the opposition procedure, classification of goods and services, and appeals. Covers the unitary EUTM, not national marks.

## Forums & authorities

EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) at first instance, including the Opposition Division; the EUIPO Boards of Appeal; on further appeal, the General Court (EuG) and the Court of Justice (EuGH).

## Key sources of law

- **EU Trade Mark Regulation (EUTMR)** — Regulation (EU) 2017/1001: Art. 7 (absolute grounds for refusal), Art. 8 (relative grounds / opposition), Art. 32 ff. (application requirements and filing), Art. 46–47 (opposition procedure and proof of use).
- **Implementing/Delegated regulations** — Regulation (EU) 2018/626 and Regulation (EU) 2018/625 (procedural rules) — verify the current version.
- **Classification** — the Nice Classification of goods and services.
- **Case law** — EUIPO Boards of Appeal decisions and EuG/EuGH trade-mark judgments.

## Citation discipline

Follow the rules in `eu/CLAUDE.md`: "Art. 8(1)(b) Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 (EUTMR)", "Case T-[n]/[yy]" (General Court) / "Case C-[n]/[yy]" (Court of Justice). **Never invent** article numbers, case numbers, or Board-of-Appeal references — verify the current EUTMR consolidated text before relying on it.

## When this plugin does NOT apply

- A single member state's national trademark → that state's `ip` (e.g. `de/ip`)
- Patents (including the Unified Patent Court / unitary patent) → keep distinct; this profile covers trade marks
- Copyright and online content liability → `tmt`

## Mandatory disclaimer in output

> This output is informational only and is not legal advice. Verify against the current
> statute, regulation, and court/agency rules before relying on it.
