The European Union Trademark

1. The European Union Trademark The European Union Trademark is a system whereby a trademark owner may file one trademark application with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EU IPO), in one of the designated language, which, once registered, gives the trademark owner rights in all countries of the European Union. With this trademark registration, the owners obtain the exclusive right to use the mark in connection with your goods and services. Under European Council Regulation (EC) No. 40/94, a single application submitted to a central office will result in a registration valid in all the Member States of the European Union. The EU Trademark does not abolish national trademark protection but allows registrations which coexist with national trademarks. EU IPO, located in Alicante, Spain, first began accepting EU Trademark applications (formerly Community Trademark) on January 1, 1996. You can often get a cost effective and simplified means of obtaining protection in European countries through the EU trademark rather than seeking registrations in various European countries individually. The applicant has to file only one application for the registration process. You have to pay the costs of prosecuting only one application, rather than prosecuting applications for each separate country. The application must include at least a request for the registration of a trademark, information identifying the applicant; a list of the goods or services in respect of which the registration is requested; a representation of the trademark.

2. The government costs as of the writing of this are 850 Euro for a single application if the application is filed electronically. The second class will be subject to an official fee of additional 50 euros and additional classes exceeding two then will cost an extra fee of 150 euros each. Renewal fees are the same. The EU Trademark is available to European companies and non-European companies alike. With some limited restrictions, nearly everyone is eligible to file for a EU Trademark. Only non-European, non-Paris Convention and non-World Trade Organization (WTO) member states that do not accord reciprocal rights to foreign applicants are excluded. The trademark applications can be filled in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Businesses who already own a trademark registration in one of the European Union countries may claim a priority registration date in that mark provided that the protection sought is no broader than that provided by the earlier national registrations. Given this priority, once the EU Trademark application is granted, the national registration can be allowed to lapse, as the earlier national priority will be embodied in the European Union Trademark registration. Likewise, if your EU Trademark application objected to by various EU countries, can be converted into a national registration in an individual EU country, while retaining the priority date of the CTM application. Once important aspect of having both national and EUTM registrations existing simultaneously is that an applicant should conduct a Trademark Search both of theEUTM register as well as the registers of each individual EU countries. Prior registrations, whether identical or confusingly similar to the applicants mark, both in individual countries and on the EUTMregister, can serve to block registration of a company's trademark. A search report is generated after the completion of EU trademark file. The search report is

3. composed of listing various similar or identical registered and pending marks, giving the applicant the opportunity to withdraw the application. Other European member states conduct their own searches and notify the Office of any conflicting registrations found. USE OF THE MARK While trademark rights in general are perpetual, in the United States and most other countries, to keep a trademark in effect the mark must be used in commerce. Failure to use the mark for a certain period of time will lead to its abandonment. Under the EU Trademark system, use in only one of the member states constitutes use in the entire Community sufficient to keep the mark in effect. Five years' non use of a mark renders a registration vulnerable to cancellation, although as indicated above use in one EU member state is deemed use in all of them. OPPOSITIONS Oppositions may be brought on the basis of other EU Trademarks, national registrations or applications, and other prior rights. A benefit to opposers is that a single opposition proceeding can affect the entire European Union Trademark filing, rather than having to oppose in each individual country. The application is open to opposition within three months of publication. This is an opportunity for other brand owners to file their objections. An opposer can file in any of the five languages of the Office, but must provide translation at his own expense if he does not choose one of the two languages of the application in question. Applications that are opposed successfully, or are otherwise refused, may be converted into national applications retaining the original priority date. Where for a period of five years, the proprietor of an earlier national registration has acquiesced in the use of a later EUTMin the member state in which the earlier trademark is protected, there shall be no basis for invalidating or opposing the EUTM. This does not apply to use of the EUTM in the other member states. RENEWAL You can renew the EU trademark registration in every ten years. The renewal in all countries covered by the EU Trademark may be accomplished through a single filing. The costs and administrative benefits of a single renewal filing with a onetime fee, versus many filings and fees are great. The process is same.

4. LICENSES AND ASSIGNMENTS A License to use mark is an effective way for a trademark owner to utilize its rights in the mark. Once your trademark is registered, you are protected. You no need to worry. The license gives a third party the right to use the mark under the terms and conditions laid out by the licensor. A license can be either exclusive or non-exclusive, and can lay out the territories in which it is effective. Payment of a royalty is usual in connection with obtaining a license. Recordal of a license at the EU IPO is required to be effective against third parties. The benefit of this is that, like with renewal, only one recordal in Alicante is necessary. Assignments must also be recorded to be effective against third parties. INFRINGEMENT Actions for infringement, and appeals therefrom, are brought in the individual member states in courts specially designated to hear EU Trademark matters, which will apply EU law, rather than national law. CONVERSION INTO NATIONAL APPLICATIONS Under the Regulation and Rules, a applicant whose EU Trademark application is rejected, either based on prior rights or for other reasons, can convert the application into separate national applications that retain the EU Trademark application priority date. CONCLUSION The European Union Trademark is an efficient and cost-effective mechanism for obtaining trademark rights in the European Community. The benefits of this include are the applicant can obtain the registration of all the countries of European Union through a single application and fee. This can be particularly beneficial for foreign companies doing business in Europe. Further, the requirement that use of a mark must only be made in one country of the EU, allows foreign companies to be able to focus on only those European countries of interest to them under their mark, while allowing room for them to expand their products or services to other EU countries covered by their trademark. Contact Us Contact Us Regimark.eu Phone-no. - 37128301449 Mail Us - info@triarobit.com Website - https://regimark.eu/