University Diploma - Advanced European Union Trade Mark and Design Law

Training program for students and practitioners (and future practitioners) active in this area.

• Candidates must have completed at least an M1 in Private Law.
• This course is also open to holders of a CEIPI diploma in patents and/or trademarks and designs.
• Holders of an M2 in Private Law may also apply.
• A good knowledge of English is required (B2 minimum).

Degree training course.

Admission based on application file: an admissions committee, made up of teachers and professionals, examines all applications to verify the candidate's level of English language skills, academic background and motivation.

Registration deadline: 30 November 2025.

The number of European Union trademarks filed each year exceeds 200 000, while the number of Community design applications filed on an annual basis exceeds 100,000. In addition, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) receives over 20,000 oppositions each year, including more than 2,000 applications for a declaration of invalidity, almost 3,000 appeals to the Boards of Appeal and 300 request for annulment before the General Court of the EU.

The University diploma in Advanced European Union Trade Mark and Design Law is a training program for students and practitioners (and future practitioners) interested in this field. It has been specially designed to prepare candidates for the French qualification exam, mention “marques, dessins et modèles” and for exams leading to a career as a judge or lawyer.

Module 1: Procedural and evidentiary issues in administrative proceedings: from filing to opposing

• Pre-filing consideration & risk assessment: workshop
• Workshop – Practical Tools: Effective use of EUIPO tools (eSearch Case Law database), Curia, Darts-IP
• Recap on absolute grounds for refusal
• Workshop - Drafting a response to an examiner’s objection: Do’s and don’ts
• Acquired distinctiveness: what to prove and how?
• Overview of opposition proceedings
• Proof of use (including non-use excused: evidentiary issues)
• Weak marks in opposition proceedings
• Opposition based on non-traditional trade marks
• Article 8(4) EUTMR - earlier national right: Substantiation; Legal standing; Types of rights that can be invoked; Use of more than mere local significance; Proof of National Law
• Article 8(5) EUTMR - Proving reputation: The issue of the “link”; Assessing the risk of injury; Proving due cause

Module 2: Procedural and evidentiary issues in cancellation and appeal proceedings

• Revocation proceedings
• Invalidity based on relative grounds: Copyright, personality rights and other IP rights; Proving and arguing national laws
• Demonstrating bad faith
• Overview of proceedings before the Board of appeal
• Initiating the appeal
• Additional evidence before the Boards
• Workshop: Drafting the Statement of grounds and the response
• Proceedings before the Grand Board of appeal: representing the intervener

Module 3: Pleading before the General Court in TM and design matters

• Introduction to the General Court (including its jurisdiction in IP Matters)
• Overview of the process
• Organisation of the Court and the Rules of procedure
• The scope of Review of the legality of the decision of the Boards of appeal: the grounds for annulment
• Pleas raised ex officio by the Court: Public policy; right to be heard etc…)
•  Workshop: Identifying the weaknesses of the BOA decision in absolute grounds
• Parties to the proceedings and their role: the Applicant, the EUIPO and the intervener
• Lodging an application for annulment: When (time limits; Missing time limits: Force majeure and “excusable errors”)? How to file an application? By whom (the applicant; the successor in title; representation; Legal aid)
• Content of the application: Language issues; Pleas and arguments; Inadmissibility of new pleas; Amplified pleas; The effect of a limitation of the EUTM or the contested mark on the scope of the dispute
• Documents and Admissibility of New Evidence
• Drafting the conclusions: Admissibility of a head of claim in the form of order sought; Request for the annulment of the contested decision; Request for altering the contested decision; Request regarding the costs
• Workshop: Drafting an application and response (including drafting the response of the intervener)
• The written procedure: Filing a cross-appeal; Procedural measures; Enquiry measures; Preliminary report
• The hearing: Request for a hearing; Preparing the hearing
• Advocacy before the general Court:  Presentation skills; Basic notion of argumentation and reasoning; Avoiding common errors in arguing; Responding to expected and unexpected questions from the Bench; Developing counterarguments
• Judgments and Orders (including Orders and the fixation of costs; Discontinuance; Situations where there is no need to adjudicate ; Requests for the appeal to be allowed to proceed)
• Actions before the Court of Justice: The filtering mechanism for appeals and admissibility criteria

Module 4: Alternative Dispute Resolution in IP disputes

• Negotiation; Conciliation; Early neutral evaluation; Expert determination Proceedings; Dispute Boards; Adjudication
• French conciliation scheme relating to the employee’s inventions disputes under the auspices of the Commission Nationale des Inventions de Salariés (CNIS)
• Mediation: The Patent mediation and arbitration centre under the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court; WIPO mediation; EUIPO mediation
• Drafting mediation agreements
• Transaction: Drafting Transactions; Homologation of transactions; Singapore Convention on Mediation
• Introduction to arbitration: Overview of International Arbitration; Pros and cons of arbitration in the context of IP litigation: Ah hoc or Institutional Arbitration UNCITRAL and International Arbitration
• Arbitration under the auspices of WIPO
• Arbitration of FRAND disputes 
• Compulsory arbitration regarding the determination of the remuneration to be paid by digital platform services for the use of news content: the French and Australian experience 
• Arbitrability of IP Disputes: Validity; Licensing; Ownership; Infringement; Violation of moral rights; Arbitration agreement (validity and challenges against its validity)
• Initiating the arbitration process: constitution of the Arbitral Tribunal
• Drafting of the terms of reference 
• The Emergency Arbitrator pursuant to the ICC Arbitration Rules
• Provisional injunction in arbitration proceedings: A comparative perspective
• Conduct of the arbitration proceedings: Determining the law applicable to the disputes 
• Evidence in arbitration proceedings (including expert witnesses)
• Challenge, Recognition and Enforcement of arbitration awards under the New York Convention (1958) (1h30)

Module 5: Granting third party the right to use:  the contractual framework

• Trade marks as objects of property within the frame work of the EUTMR
• Drafting co-existence agreements
• Trade mark assignment agreements
• Trade mark licenses

Module 6: Advanced EU Design Law (including most recent amendments to the Design regulation)

• Protecting the appearance of a product: Copyright, Trade mark, Design, Unfair competition?
• The International System; The Hague System; Design Law Treaty (DLT)
• Introduction to EU Design Law
• Pre-filing considerations and searches
• Application for an EU Design
• Design invalidity proceedings: Grounds of invalidity and procedure
• Design Infringement: Applicable law; Infringing acts; Defenses (Exhaustion of rights; Invalidity; Prior Use); Assessing the infringement; Damages
• The “repair clause”
• Protecting Designs in the World: China; USA; Japan; Brazil; Korea; India; Australia; Canada

100 hours (6 modules) + Exams

• Module 1: Thursday 15 & Friday 16 January 2026 - 13 hours
• Module 2: Thursday 12 & Friday 13 February 2026 – 13 hours
• Module 3: Thursday 19 & Friday 20 March 2026 – 13 hours
• Module 4: Thursday 9 & Friday 10 April 2026 – 13 hours
• Module 5: Monday 11 & Tuesday 12 May 2026 – 13 hours
• Module 6: Monday 8 to Friday 12 June 2026 – 35 hours

• Christoph Bartos, Member of the Boards of Appeal, EUIPO
• Valérie-Laure Benabou, Professor, Versailles–Saint-Quentin University
• Yann Basire, Associate Professor, CEIPI – University of Strasbourg; Director General and Director of the French Section of CEIPI
• Benjamin Fontaine, Partner, Plasseraud IP (Alicante)
• Arnaud Folliard-Monguiral, Senior Lawyer, EUIPO
• Frédéric Glaize, Partner, Plasseraud IP (Paris)
• Anne-Emmanuelle Kahn, Professor, Lyon 2 University
• Mehmet Polat Kalafatoglu, Professor, Koç University Law School
• Paul Maier, Former President of the Boards of Appeal, EUIPO; Former Director of the Observatory, EUIPO
• Pierre Massot, Founder, Arenaire
• Iza Junkar, Senior Associate, Hogan Lovells (Alicante)
• Stefan Martin, Chairperson of the Board of Appeal, CPVO; Member of the Boards of Appeal, EUIPO
• Judges of the General Court of the European Union (to be confirmed)

*subject to modification

Yann Basire, Associate Professor, CEIPI – University of Strasbourg; Director General and Director of the French Section of CEIPI

Stefan Martin, Chairperson of the Board of Appeal, CPVO; Member of the Boards of Appeal, EUIPO

The programme follows a hybrid format (in-person and online), combining lectures, seminars, and practical workshops.

This university diploma offers a unique opportunity to learn from experienced practitioners, academics, and officials from IP offices.

It is designed to provide in-depth knowledge of European trade mark and design law, with a particular focus on procedural and evidentiary aspects.

The language of teaching is English.

The students who have completed their studies successfully, will be awarded the University Diploma “Advanced European Union Trade Mark and Design Law” by the President of the University of Strasbourg.

The speakers' presentations and other documents will be made available to participants online on the University of Strasbourg's distance learning platform (Moodle).

Hybrid format:

• Module 1: Thursday 15 & Friday 16 January 2026 – Online
• Module 2: Thursday 12 & Friday 13 February 2026 – Online
• Module 3: Thursday 19 & Friday 20 March 2026 – On-site in Paris or online (student’s choice)
• Module 4: Thursday 9 & Friday 10 April 2026 – On-site in Paris or online (student’s choice)
• Module 5: Monday 11 & Tuesday 12 May 2026 – Online
• Module 6: Monday 8 to Friday 12 June 2026 – Online

Courses will be held via a videoconferencing platform. Connection details (link and password) will be provided to participants in advance.

Access to course materials will be provided through the CEIPI distance-learning platform (Moodle). Login credentials will be communicated to participants ahead of the first session.

Participants must ensure they have the necessary technical equipment to attend online sessions, including a computer or similar device and a reliable high-speed internet connection.

CEIPI provides users with technical support to help identify and resolve technical issues in a timely manner. However, CEIPI cannot be held legally responsible for service malfunctions or for participants’ or speakers’ insufficient connection quality or network performance.

Technical support contact: diploma_eutm_cd[at]ceipi.edu

• Continuing education (including university fees and CVEC): €3,500
• Initial training: €980*

*Students registered as initial training must also pay the CVEC (Student and Campus Life Contribution) and national tuition fees, in addition to the registration fees.

Registration opens: 8 September 2025

Registration closes: 30 November 2025

For any registration or information request, please contact us at the following address:  diploma_eutm_cd@ceipi.edu

Université de Strasbourg

Bâtiment LE CARDO

7 rue de l'Ecarlate

CS 20024

FR-67082 Strasbourg Cedex

Tél : 03 68 85 80 12