In 2019 major changes in the Estonian IP procedures take effect.

• No need for written Power of Attorneys. This will simplify the burden of procedural administration of IP owners for having their IP protected in Estonia.

• No ex officio trademark examination is done on relative grounds any more. Relative grounds still remain the subject of trademark invalidation and cancellation.

• Representation of the trademark. Graphical representation of a trademark will no longer be necessary which will facilitate the filing of motions and sounds for instance. Multimedia files can be used for trademark filings.

• No payment of trademark registration fee (45 euro). Only electronic trademark registration certificate will be issued.

• Term of trademarks 10 years registration will be calculated from the date of filing. Previously the term was calculated from the date of registration.

• New opposition and cancellation procedures before the Board of Appeals. Alternative administrative cancellation and revocation action process before the Board of Appeals is introduced. Opponent is also subject for proving the usage of their trademark during the procedure. Also cooling-off period for a possibility to settle matters with amicable agreements between the parties will be introduced. All this makes the opposition, cancellation and revocation processes significantly less time and money consuming.