Additional Services
Trademark registration & IP structuring for fintech companies
Your licence application carries a brand name. Make sure you own it — in every market you plan to enter — and that the company holding it is the right one. We coordinate clearance, national, EUIPO and WIPO Madrid filings through partner trademark attorneys, and structure who owns the IP.
- Madrid System members (WIPO, Dec 2025)
- 116
- Madrid System members (WIPO, Dec 2025)
- countries reachable from one Madrid application
- 132
- countries reachable from one Madrid application
- EU member states covered by one EUIPO filing
- 27
- EU member states covered by one EUIPO filing
- renewable term of a Madrid or EU registration
- 10 years
- renewable term of a Madrid or EU registration
Why fintechs lose their name
Fintech brands get tested twice — once by the trademark office, once by the regulator. A licence application filed under a name someone else has registered is a problem you discover late: an opposition, a cease-and-desist from a competitor, or an app-store takedown months after launch.
Renaming after authorisation is worse than renaming before. Websites, client agreements, app listings, payment scheme registrations and the licence itself all carry the name — and a change usually has to be notified to the regulator.
The fix is boring and cheap by comparison: clear the name before you incorporate, file in the classes that matter for financial services, and decide early which entity in the group owns it.
What we cover
Clearance search & risk opinion
Identical and similar marks checked in the target offices before you commit to a name, with a written view on registrability and conflict risk.
Class strategy for fintech
Financial services sit in Nice Class 36, downloadable apps and software in Class 9, SaaS and platform services in Class 42. Most fintechs need more than one — few need ten.
National trademark filings
Applications with the local IP office in the markets where you hold or plan a licence, filed by registered trademark attorneys in our partner network.
EU trade mark (EUIPO)
One application, one registration, all 27 EU member states. Unitary — which also means a conflict in one member state can block the whole mark.
WIPO Madrid international registration
One application in one language, one set of fees in Swiss francs, designating any of the Madrid members. Built on a home ("basic") mark.
Oppositions, office actions & renewals
Responses to provisional refusals, oppositions for and against your mark, watch services and renewal deadlines tracked across the portfolio.
IP ownership, assignment & licensing
Assignments from founders and contract developers, intra-group licence agreements and royalty terms, so the licensed entity and the IP owner are documented correctly.
Choosing the filing route
| Route | Coverage | How it works | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| National filing | One country | Filed directly with that country's IP office, under its own rules and fees | Separate application, language and representative per country |
| EU trade mark (EUIPO) | All 27 EU member states | One unitary application at the EUIPO; 10-year renewable term | An earlier right in any single member state can block the whole EU mark |
| WIPO Madrid System | Up to 132 countries via 116 Madrid members | One international application through your home office, designating the members you choose; 10-year renewable term | For five years the international registration depends on the home mark — if that falls, the designations fall with it |
WIPO basic fee: CHF 653 (black-and-white mark) or CHF 903 (mark in colour), plus a fee for each designated member. Designated offices have 12 months — or 18, where the member has declared it — to issue a refusal. Official fees only; source: WIPO Schedule of Fees.
Where should the IP sit?
Most IP holding company advice skips one fact: under the OECD modified nexus approach, trademarks don't qualify for IP regimes. Cyprus and the UAE both exclude marketing-related IP — brands, trade names, trademarks — from their preferential rates. What does qualify is patents and copyrighted software. For a fintech, the code is often worth more to the structure than the logo.
| Jurisdiction | Regime | What qualifies | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyprus | IP Box — 80% of qualifying profit deductible. Corporate tax is 15% from 1 January 2026, so the effective rate on qualifying profit is around 3% | Patents, copyrighted software, utility models | Trademarks and brands excluded. Benefit scaled by the nexus fraction — your own and unrelated-party R&D counts, acquired IP and related-party R&D do not |
| UAE free zone | 0% on qualifying income for a Qualifying Free Zone Person; 9% otherwise (Cabinet Decision 100 and Ministerial Decision 265 of 2023, in force 1 June 2023) | Patents, copyrighted software and patent-equivalent rights | Trademarks excluded — income from them is taxed at 9%. Nexus ratio with a 30% uplift applies to qualifying IP |
| Mauritius | 8-year tax holiday on income from IP assets developed in Mauritius (Finance Act 2019) | IP developed in Mauritius | Acquired or foreign-developed IP does not qualify; BEPS Action 5 substance requirements apply |
| Labuan | Not an IP regime | — | Since 1 January 2019, royalty and IP income is excluded from Labuan business activity and taxed under Malaysia's Income Tax Act 1967 instead of the 3% Labuan rate. We will tell you not to hold IP here. |
Trademarks still belong somewhere deliberate. In Cyprus, intangible assets other than goodwill — trademarks included — can be amortised over their useful life, up to 20 years. And whichever entity owns the brand, the licensed entity needs a written licence to use it on arm's-length terms. Regulators ask; tax authorities ask more.
Tax outcomes depend on the full group structure, substance and a ruling where available. We coordinate with tax counsel in each jurisdiction before anything is transferred.
How it works
Name & class review
We check the name against existing marks in your target markets and map the Nice classes your products need.
Filing route
National, EUIPO, Madrid or a mix — chosen against where you are licensed now and where you are expanding.
Filing & examination
Partner trademark attorneys file and handle office actions, publication and any opposition.
Registration & portfolio
Certificates, renewal dates and watch notices kept in one schedule.
Ownership & licensing
Assignment into the right group entity and an intra-group licence to the regulated company.
Who does the work
Trademark filings are made by registered trademark attorneys and IP counsel in our partner network, in the jurisdiction concerned. Zitadelle sets the strategy, coordinates the attorneys across markets and ties the IP structure to your licensing and corporate set-up — so the brand on the licence, the entity that owns it and the tax position line up.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is not usually a licensing requirement, but it should come first. A financial licence and a trademark are separate rights — being authorised under a name does not give you ownership of it. Clearing and filing before you apply avoids renaming a licensed business later.
Before you file for a licence, file for the name.
Send us the name, the markets and the products. We come back with a clearance view and a filing route.