Trademark

The European Commission has today presented a package of initiatives to make trade mark registration systems all over the European Union cheaper, quicker, more reliable and predictable. The proposed reform would improve conditions for businesses to innovate and to benefit from more effective trade mark protection against counterfeits, including fake goods in transit through the EU's territory.

As regards fees, the Commission is proposing a principle of "one-class-per-fee" that will apply both for Community trade mark applications and for national trade mark applications. This will enable any business – particularly SMEs – to apply for trade mark protection according to their actual business needs, at a cost that covers those individual needs only.

For further information, please click here and here.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

International filings for patents, trade marks and industrial designs under World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)-administered intellectual property (IP) systems saw continued strong growth in 2012.

In 2012, international patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) grew by 6.6% on 2011. Japan and the United States of America (US) accounted for 48.8% of the 194,400 PCT applications filed in 2012.

International trade mark applications filed under the Madrid system grew by 4.1% in 2012. France, Germany and the US accounted for 36.5% of the 44,018 Madrid applications filed in 2012.

International industrial design applications filed under the Hague system grew by 3.3% on 2011. The 2,604 applications filed in 2012 contained 12,454 individual designs, representing 3.5% growth over 2011. France, Germany and Switzerland accounted for 62.8% of total designs.

“As in previous years, demand for WIPO’s international IP filing systems increased despite a weak economic climate,” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. “As we begin to see signs of a recovery, those companies that built strong portfolios of intangible assets during the downturn will benefit the most from new market opportunities.”

For more information and to access full data, please click here.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

The Euroclass tool has changed its name to TMclass, a tool developed by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) to assist trade mark applicants classifying goods and services.

According to OHIM, the change in the name is due to the “growing importance of TMclass as a true global IP resource, which includes access to the databases of EU national IP offices and other major IP offices, including the USPTO and Japan Patent Office (JPO).”

For further information, please click here.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

The European Trade Mark and Design Network brings together the Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (OHIM) and National Intellectual Property Offices in the EU member states, aiming at providing up to date electronic services, facilitating access to information and converging practice in the way offices examine, evaluate and enforce protection in the fields of trade mark and design.

In the European Trade Mark and Design Network website you will find free tools developed by the different IP offices and user representatives, as well as information to assist you find your way to the relevant national or regional offices. If you are looking for e-learning tools addressing SMEs needs, the European Trade Mark and Design Network is also the right place for you.

Which tools are available?

• TMview to search for a term or a trade mark among national offices within the European Union, as well as OHIM and WIPO;
• Euroclassto facilitate the process of classifying goods and services;
• Designview to search for a design among national offices within the European Union, as well as in OHIM;
• Similarity to assess whether determined goods and services are considered similar or dissimilar among the participating national offices in the European Union.

For further information, please click here and here.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

The International Trademark Association (INTA) is offering five Student Scholarships, to give students of trade mark law a considerable degree of support and assistance in attending its Annual Meeting and enriching the event through their presence. If you are, or know, a European trade mark student you may be interested in this scholarship opportunity.  The closing date for applications is 25 January 2013.

For further details and contact, please click here.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) has recently ruled on in an interesting case (C‑149/11) on the genuine use of the community trade mark (CTM).

The Court, without elaborating on its statement, affirmed that “whilst there is admittedly some justification for thinking that a Community trade mark should – because it enjoys more extensive territorial protection than a national trade mark – be used in a larger area than the territory of a single Member State in order for the use to be regarded as ‘genuine use’, it cannot be ruled out that, in certain circumstances, the market for the goods or services for which a Community trade mark has been registered is in fact restricted to the territory of a single Member State. In such a case, use of the Community trade mark on that territory might satisfy the conditions both for genuine use of a Community trade mark and for genuine use of a national trade mark.

To read the entire pronunciation, please click here.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group