Regulated by Article 18 of Hungary Trademark Act XI/1997 and administered by HIPO,
the five-year genuine use rule is the biggest post-registration compliance risk for non-EEA
overseas brands. A real revocation case of a Southeast Asian beverage brand fully exposes
two fatal filing & maintenance defects: only limited temporary use within 3 months
before revocation request does not count as valid genuine use and mandatory
Hungarian-language use evidence with consular legalization for non-EU applicants. The
brand’s national trademark was partially revoked, losing protection for core beverage
subclasses and incurring heavy market losses across Central Europe. This case clarifies
HIPO’s strict standards for judging genuine commercial use and delivers portfolio maintenance
guidance for global FMCG enterprises.
A Thai fruit drink brand obtained a Hungarian national trademark registration for Class 30 & 32
beverages in 2019. For five consecutive years after registration, the brand only occasionally
shipped small batches of goods to Hungarian online warehouses without formal local VAT invoices,
offline retail cooperation or Hungarian advertising. In early 2025, a Budapest beverage
competitor filed partial revocation covering all beverage subclasses on grounds of five-year
non-use. The Thai IP team rushed to launch small-scale local sales three months before the
revocation hearing and submitted simple delivery slips as use proof. HIPO examiners ruled
that last-minute emergency sales merely to avoid revocation failed to meet the genuine use
standard under Article 18(2). In addition, all overseas shipping documents were only in Thai
and English without certified Hungarian translations and embassy legalization, which were
deemed inadmissible evidence. HIPO issued a partial revocation decision, stripping protection for
all beverage goods; the brand retained only trivial registered food subclasses irrelevant to its core
business. The Thai enterprise invested over 86,000 EUR in re-filing, evidence notarization and local
distributor cooperation fees, and lost 4 years of exclusive beverage sales in Hungary.
Genuine use anti-evasion clause (Trademark Act Article 18(2)). Temporary commercial activities
launched within three months prior to a revocation request, solely to prevent trademark cancellation,
shall not be recognized as legitimate genuine use. Continuous, stable circulation with formal local tax
records and offline marketing materials is the core judging benchmark; simple cross-border
warehousing and sporadic small shipments are excluded from valid use.
Mandatory Hungarian certified translation + consular legalization for all foreign use evidence.
Non-EEA trademark holders must provide Hungarian VAT invoices, retail display photos, local
distributor contracts and Hungarian promotional materials as primary proof. All overseas sales archives,
foreign-language delivery documents must attach certified Hungarian translations plus embassy
legalization; untranslated foreign files carry zero probative value in HIPO revocation proceedings.
Partial revocation mechanism matching unused goods/services. If the mark is not genuinely used for
part of the registered Nice subclasses, HIPO only revokes protection for those unused categories instead
of the whole trademark, leaving the rest of the registered scope intact. This forces brands to maintain
targeted use evidence for every core business subclass.
HIPO ex officio prior right search difference from opposition procedures. During registration
examination, HIPO actively searches earlier trademarks; yet after registration, third parties alone may
initiate non-use revocation procedures, with no official proactive supervision over trademark actual
use status.
Non-EEA permanent local representative requirement for revocation defense. Enterprises without EEA
residence must entrust a HIPO-licensed Hungarian industrial property attorney to submit use evidence
and written defensive statements; self-submitted foreign materials will be discarded without substantive
review.
Hungary’s statutory five-year genuine use anti-evasion rule sets rigid post-registration
maintenance standards for overseas brands entering Central Europe. This Thai beverage partial
revocation case fully proves belated emergency sales and untranslated foreign commercial records
cannot defend against non-use revocation. For global food, drink and FMCG brands targeting Hungary,
sustained localized Hungarian market circulation evidence, standardized document legalization and
permanent local IP representation are irreplaceable safeguards to preserve full trademark protection
across all registered product categories.
Hyperlink List：
● WIPO Lex Full English Text Hungary Trademark Act XI/1997 Article 18:
https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text/508392
● HIPO Official Electronic Trademark Register Database:
