Cyprus Trademark Registry — national registration
Cyprus is a party to the Madrid Protocol (in force for Cyprus since 4 November 2003), and trademarks registered through the Cyprus Trademark Registry (a department of the Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property) provide protection within the Republic of Cyprus only. The official fee is roughly €130 for one class filed electronically under the Nice Classification, plus about €95 for each extra class; confirm the current figures on the Registrar's trade-marks page before filing. Applications are examined on absolute grounds (distinctiveness, descriptiveness) and published for opposition; the full process from filing to registration typically takes roughly 6 to 12 months, longer if opposed. Applications can be filed directly online via the Registrar's portal. A Cyprus trademark is valid for 10 years and renewable indefinitely. For most businesses operating primarily in Cyprus, a national registration is sufficient for enforcement purposes. If your business plans extend to the broader EU market, a Cyprus national mark is rarely the right primary strategy, as the EUIPO route is more efficient.
EUIPO EU trademark — the practical choice for most businesses
An EU Trade Mark (EUTM) registered through the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO, based in Alicante, Spain) provides protection across all 27 EU member states including Cyprus for a single application. The EUIPO application fee depends on the number of classes; check the current schedule on the EUIPO website before filing. The examination and publication process typically takes several months from filing to registration if there are no oppositions. An EUTM registered before a business relocates to Cyprus automatically extends to Cyprus, so there is no separate Cyprus filing needed. The EUIPO also offers an accelerated Fast Track procedure which can shorten the timeline (about 4 to 7 months overall; see EUIPO) for applications that pass the initial checks cleanly. For brands targeting the EU market, an EUTM is almost always more cost-effective than filing in multiple EU member states individually. EUIPO's online filing system is straightforward and does not require a local agent, though using a trademark attorney reduces the risk of objections.
Interactive tool
What will you actually take home?
Calculate your Social Insurance and GeSY deductions on any Cyprus salary.
Your details
Your contributions (employee)
€400.75/mo
€4,809.00/yr
Employer contributions
€539.00/mo
€6,468.00/yr
| Contribution | Rate | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Insurance (SI) | 8.8% | €308.00 | €3,696.00 |
| GeSY (General Healthcare) | 2.65% | €92.75 | €1,113.00 |
| Total | €400.75 | €4,809.00 |
| Contribution | Rate | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Insurance (SI) | 8.8% | €308.00 | €3,696.00 |
| Redundancy Fund | 1.2% | €42.00 | €504.00 |
| Industrial Training (HRDA) | 0.5% | €17.50 | €210.00 |
| Social Cohesion Fund | 2% | €70.00 | €840.00 |
| GeSY (General Healthcare) | 2.9% | €101.50 | €1,218.00 |
| Total | €539.00 | €6,468.00 |
Next steps
Patents — European Patent Office and the PCT route
Cyprus is a contracting state of the European Patent Convention (EPC), meaning a European Patent granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) must be validated in Cyprus within 3 months of grant to have effect here. Validation in Cyprus requires a certified Greek translation of the granted patent filed with the Registrar (Form Π.17); the translation is the main cost. Cyprus has no substantive examination of its own for most applicants, so the practical route for any patent with Cyprus coverage is through the EPO or, for global protection, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) with Cyprus designated. EPO application costs are substantial: indicative market estimates (not official figures) put total costs including search, examination, and prosecution in the thousands of euros before grant, plus validation costs in each country. Patent attorneys are essentially mandatory for prosecution. Software patents per se are not granted by the EPO (software 'as such' is excluded), but software implementing a technical process or having technical effect is patentable, but the boundary is complex and requires careful claim drafting.
Software copyright — automatic, no registration required
Under Cyprus copyright law (Intellectual Property (Literary and Artistic Works) Law, as amended, implementing the EU Software Directive 2009/24/EC), software is protected as a literary work from the moment of creation. There is no registration requirement, no fee, and no formal process. The author (or the employer, for works created in the course of employment) holds copyright automatically. The protection term is 70 years from the death of the author for personal works. This means a startup building software in Cyprus is protected from day one with zero administrative overhead — the critical practical step is maintaining evidence of creation: timestamped commits in version control, development history, and any contracts with third-party developers assigning IP clearly to the company. A common mistake for funded startups is unclear IP assignment from co-founders or early contractors — fix this with explicit IP assignment clauses in all founder and contractor agreements before fundraising.
Domain names and the .cy registry
The .cy country code top-level domain is administered by the University of Cyprus. Registrations are available through accredited registrars including several Cyprus-based ISPs and hosting providers. The .cy registry operates under a reserved namespace policy: .com.cy is the standard commercial second-level domain; .org.cy and .net.cy are also available. Registry prices start from about €20 per year and registrar prices vary; check eligibility rules and current prices with the registry at nic.cy or your registrar. For businesses incorporating in Cyprus, registering the corresponding .com.cy domain alongside a .com or other international TLD is standard practice.