| Author (Corporate) | European Commission |
|---|---|
| Series Title | COM |
| Series Details | (2013) 162 final (27.3.13) |
| Publication Date | 27/03/2013 |
| Content Type | Policy-making |
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The laws of the Member States relating to trade marks were partially harmonised by Council Directive 89/104/EEC of 21 December 1988, codified as Directive 2008/95/EC (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Directive’). Alongside and linked to the national trade mark systems, Council Regulation (EC) No 40/94 of 20 December 1993 on the Community trade mark, codified as Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Regulation’), established a stand-alone system for the registration of unitary rights having equal effect throughout the EU. In that context, the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) was set up to be responsible for registering and administering Community trade marks. A trade mark serves to distinguish the goods and services of a company. It is the mark through which a business can attract and retain customer loyalty, and create value and growth. The mark works in this case as an engine of innovation: the necessity to keep it relevant promotes investments in R&D, which leads in turn to a continuous process of product improvement and development. This dynamic process also has a favourable impact on employment. In an increasingly competitive environment, there has been a steady growth not only in the crucial role of trade marks for market success, but also in their commercial value. This is reflected in the increasing number of trade mark applications at both national and EU levels, and also in the number of trade mark users. This development has been accompanied by growing expectations on the part of stakeholders for more streamlined and high-quality trade mark registration systems, which are more consistent, publicly accessible and technologically up-to-date. In 2007, when addressing the issue of the financial perspectives of OHIM, the Council emphasised that the establishment of OHIM had been a great success and that it had contributed substantially to strengthening the competitiveness of the EU. It recalled that the Community trade mark system had been designed to co-exist with the national trade mark systems, which continued to be necessary for those undertakings which did not want their trade marks protected at EU level. The Council further noted the importance of the complementary work of national trade mark offices, and called on OHIM to expand its cooperation with them in the interest of the overall functioning of the Community trade mark system. Last, it acknowledged that more than a decade had passed since the creation of the Community trade mark, and therefore underlined the need for an overall assessment of the functioning of the Community trade mark system. It invited the Commission to start work on a corresponding study, in particular with a view to intensifying and broadening the existing instruments of cooperation between OHIM and national trade mark offices. In its 2008 Small Business Act the Commission pledged to make the Community trade mark system more accessible to SMEs. Furthermore, the 2008 Communication on an Industrial Property Rights Strategy for Europe underlined the Commission’s commitment to effective and efficient trade mark protection and to a trade mark system of high quality. It concluded that it was time for an overall evaluation, which could form the basis for a future review of the trade mark system in Europe and for the further improvement of cooperation between OHIM and National Offices. In 2010, in the Communication on Europe 2020, under the Flagship Initiative ‘Innovation Union’, the Commission undertook to modernise the framework of trade marks in order to improve framework conditions for business to innovate. Finally, in its 2011 IPR strategy for Europe, the Commission announced a review of the trade mark system in Europe with a view to modernising the system, both at EU and at national level, by making it more effective, efficient and consistent overall. Considered together as a package, the main common objective of this initiative and of the parallel proposal for the amendment to the Regulation is to foster innovation and economic growth by making trade mark registration systems all over the EU more accessible and efficient for businesses in terms of lower costs and complexity, increased speed, greater predictability and legal security. These adjustments dovetail with efforts to ensure coexistence and complementarity between the Union and national trade mark systems. |
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| Source Link | http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2013:162:FIN |
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| Subject Categories | Internal Markets |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
