Romania: Should ex officio examination for prior rights be reintroduced?

This article deals with the debate among Romanian professionals about whether reintroduction of ex officio examination for prior rights under the law will increase legal certainty and predictability, as the directive aims to.

The current trademark law dates to 2010, when ex officio examination for prior rights was taken out. Prior rights, according to the law, can be invoked only in opposition and cancellation procedures.

After approximately two years, the number of later identical trademarks had risen to the thousands, especially when earlier marks had some degree of recognition, and the majority of applicants for later marks were Romanian nationals.