EUROPE TRADEMARK EUROPE TRADEMARKIntellectual Property Rights as a generic term is said to have come into existence during the 20th century the way it is widely known today. From then on, IP Rights which are intangible, have grown over the years as they were interpreted to include and encompass newer fields of innovation and understanding.
Europe has been at the forefront of IPR Evolution through Industrial Revolution. Trademarks in Europe have played a significant role in establishing and enhancing businesses that are globally renowned and highly regarded. Europe has therefore contributed immensely toward streamlining and making Intellectual Property Rights evermore principled and regulatory. From as far back as 1623 through the statute of Monopolies to the modern times via establishment of WIPO, Europe has played an important part in the robust development of IPR and Trademarks.
Europe comprises of 51 countries in total and is situated in the north western part of Eurasia.
Europe has 5 transcontinental countries that are partly located in Europe and Asia which are:
Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey.
Two countries despite being located in the West Asian Territory geographically, are politically considered European countries. These are:
Armenia and Cyprus.
Russia is the largest European Country and Vatican City the smallest occupying a tiny area within Rome.
For easy reference and attribution, Europe is divided into:
Central Europe
Eastern Europe
Northern Europe
Southern Europe
Western Europe
and Vatican City the smallest occupying a tiny area within Rome.
The CTM is unique to Europe. CTM was established in 1996 by way of the ‘Office For Harmonisation In The Internal Market’ (OHIM) with the aim of harmonizing of Intellectual Property Rights pertaining to Trademarks & Designs amongst the European Countries which are signatory to the European Union.
Initially CTM comprised of only 15 nations and then expanded to include several other European countries.
Earlier, Applicants wishing to register their trademarks and designs in Europe had to do so through individual filings at the National Offices of the countries of choice. With CTM it is now possible to obtain registration of trademarks through a single route by way of a single application which covers many European countries as well as subsequent member countries as and when they join the CTM platform.
MEMBER STATES : Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom
The Benelux Treaty is a regional treaty formulated by the Benelux Countries comprising of Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg and is unique to these three countries.
The Benelux Treaty does not take away priority provided by the Paris Convention and the TRIPS Agreement regarding trademarks. However, exclusive territorial rights within the Benelux territory have to be acquired by way of filing and registering the trademark applications at the Benelux Office.
Based on one’s requirements and assessments of pros and cons of each of the above routes, applicants may consider registering their brands and trademarks accordingly.
Attorneys and Associates of Trademarkcopia are at hand to help and assist applicant’s with Europe trademark search, registration and prosecution.
Following are the general requirements for trademarks to be considered registrable in Europe: