sreda, 23. marec 2016

Changes in the Trademark Law of the European Union


The trademark law in the European Union and OHIM (Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market), which is responsible for Community trademarks and Community designs, underwent some changes, which came to effect today, March 23rd, 2016. 

Below are some of the most important changes in the trademark law of the European Union:


Name changes

On March 23rd 2016, the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) became the EUROPEAN UNION INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE (EUIPO).

The term "Community trade mark" (CTM) changed into "EUROPEAN UNION TRADE MARK" (EUTM).


Fee changes

The official basic fee for the application of a European Union trade mark is reduced from 900 EUR to 850 EUR.  However, the basic fee now covers only one class of the Nice classification. This is a cosequence of change from the three-class fee system into the one class fee system. According to the new scheme the fee for the second class is 50 EUR, while the fee for every subsequent class is 150 EUR. 

The official renewal fees are significantly reduced and will be equal to the application fees in the future. The renewal fees have to be paid not later than on the day of expiry of the protection. Until now, they were payable by the end of the last day of the month of expiry.

The official fees for opposition, cancellation and appeal are slightly reduced.


Search report only upon request

The EUIPO will issue a search report on the basis of prior EU trade marks only if such a search report is requested.


Waiver of the requirement of graphical representation 

From October 1st, 2017, the requirement of graphical representation of a EU trade mark will not be in force any more. Presumably, it will become possible to register trade marks of new types, namely acoustic trade marks, holographic trade marks, and similar. 


New European Union Certification Mark 

On October 1st, 2017, European Union certification marks will be introduced for goods and services complying with certain certification requirements (quality seals). The Applicant of a European Union certification mark has to submit regulations governing the rules of use of the certification mark.


Supplementation of the list of goods and services

In connection with lists of goods and services it was accepted that the heading of a Nice class in the list of goods and services is only acceptable if it is clear and unambiguous. If the entire heading of a Nice class is included in the list of goods and services, the scope of protection of the trade mark will no longer include all goods or services that belong to the respective Nice class, but only those goods or services that are covered by the literal meaning of the heading of the class. To give an example: The heading of Nice class no. 15 is "musical instruments". Some goods not being musical instruments in the literal sense, however, also belong to this class, e.g. music stands. Music stands are NOT covered by a European Union trade mark which is registered only for "musical instruments" in Nice class no. 15. Hence, a clear and precise designation of the goods and services for which the protection of the trade mark is sought is essential. Because this rule could represent damage for the owners of existing trade marks, it is possible for trade marks filed for before June 22nd, 2012 in which only the class heading is included, to file a declaration that this class heading also covers goods and services not literally included in the meaning of the class heading. Such declaration must be filed before September 24th, 2016. If you have such case, please contact us so we can take care of this as soon as possible. 


In case you have any questions regarding new rules regarding European Union  trade marks, we are at your service.

We wish you a successful spring! 

Spremembe prava blagovnih znamk v Evropski Uniji

Pravo blagovnih znamk v Evropski Uniji kot tudi urad OHIM (Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market), ki je odgovoren za znamke Skupnosti in tudi modele Skupnosti, sta doživela nekaj sprememb, ki stopajo v veljavo danes, 23. marca 2016. 

Spodaj navajamo nekaj najpomembnejših sprememb:


Sprememba imena

S 23. marcem 2016 se iz "Urad za usklajevanje na notranjem trgu (znamke in modeli)" (Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market - OHIM) preimenuje v "Urad EU za intelektualno lastnino"(EUROPEAN UNION INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE - EUIPO).

Izraz "Znamka Skupnosti" (Community trademark - CTM) je po novem "Znamka Evropske Unije" oz. "Znamka EU" (EUROPEAN UNION TRADE MARK - EUTM).


Spremembe pristojbin

Uradna osnovna pristojbina za prijavo znamke Evropske Unije se zniža iz 900 EUR na 850 EUR, vendar osnovna pristojbina po novem obsega le en razred Nicejske klasifikacije blaga in storitev. To je posledica spremembe iz t.i. three-class fee system v t.i. one class fee system. Po novi shemi bo pristojbina za drugi razred blaga in storitev 50 EUR, za vsak nadaljnji razred pa 150 EUR. 

Tudi uradne pristojbine za podaljšanje veljavnosti znamk bodo znižane in bodo postale enake prijavnim pristojbinam. Pristojbine za podaljšanje veljavnosti bodo morale biti plačane najkasneje na zadnji dan poteka zaščite. Do sedaj so se lahko poravnale do zadnjega dne v mesecu, v katerem je zaščita potekla.

Uradne pristojbine za ugovor, razveljavitev in pritožbo bodo tudi rahlo znižane.


Poizvedba o starejših pravicah

Poizvedbo o starejših pravicah bo EUIPO izdal le, če bo to zahtevano v prijavi znamke EU.


Opustitev nujnosti grafične prezentacije

Od 1. oktobra 2017 grafična prezentacija znamke EU ne bo več potrebna. Posledično bo zato možno registrirati tudi znamke novih tipov, in sicer akustične znamke, holografske znamke, in podobno.


Nova certifikacijska znamka EU

S 1. oktobrom 2017 bodo uvedene Certifikacijske znamke EU za blago in storitve, za katere so potrebne različne certifikacije (znaki kakovosti). Prijavitelj takšne znamke bo moral posredovati tudi pravila, ki narekujejo uporabo certifikacijskih znamk.


Dopolnitev seznamov blaga in storitev

V zvezi s seznami blaga in storitev je bilo sprejeto pravilo, da se naslov posameznega razreda Nicejske klasifikacije v seznamu blaga in storitev lahko sprejme le, če je jasen in nedvoumen. Če bo uporabljen celoten naslov razreda Nicejske klasifikacije, le-ta ne bo več obsegal vseh storitev ali blaga v tem razredu, ampak le tiste katere dobesedno pokriva njegov pomen. Na primer, naslov razreda 15 je "glasbeni instrumenti". V tem niso omenjena stojala za note, ki pa prav tako spadajo v ta razred. Po starem sistemu so bila stojala smatrana kot del seznama, medtem ko po novem sistemu temu ne bo tako. Ker bi s tem lahko prišlo do oškodovanja lastnikov že obstoječih, registriranih znamk, je možno za znamke vložene pred 22. junijem 2012, pri katerih je naveden le naslov razreda, do 24. septembra 2016 vložiti deklaracijo, da se seznam blaga in storitev nanaša tudi na blago ali storitve, ki niso znotraj dobesednega pomena naslova razreda Nicejske klasifikacije. Če imate kakšen tak primer, nas čim prej kontaktirajte, da lahko pravočasno uredimo vse potrebno.


V kolikor imate kakšna vprašanja o novih pravilih znamk Evropske Unije, smo vam seveda z veseljem na voljo.

Želimo vam uspešno poslovno pomlad!