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4 May 2015Trademarks

WIPR survey: EU trademark reforms welcomed by majority

Three quarters of respondents to a WIPR survey on proposed reforms to the European trademark system have said they would have a positive effect.

Last week we asked whether the proposals, agreed by the European Commission, Parliament and Council, would be beneficial for trademark owners/practitioners, to which 75% of respondents answered "yes".

It was the first of a weekly survey on a hot topic in intellectual property.

On April 21, the three parties involved in the so-called trilogue discussion agreed on a package aimed at modernising the EU’s trademark system and enhancing co-operation between IP offices across the EU.

One of the respondents who said the reforms would be beneficial said the proposed reduction in renewal fees is a big plus. Currently, the fee for renewing a Community trademark (CTM) is €1,500 ($1,613), but in the new package that price is €850.

Despite strong support for the package, there is still uncertainty about how much the reforms will benefit trademark owners. Another respondent said: “In my view they will assist in bringing much needed clarity to certain areas, but in some ways they do not go far enough.”

A full draft of the reforms is expected to be released soon.

One of the talking points in the discussion on reform was the budget surplus generated at the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), the body responsible for administering CTMs.

OHIM, the annual budget of which is €190 million, has a surplus of around €300 million.

Some stakeholders had feared that the budget surplus would be used for purposes that would not benefit trademark owners, such as investment in the Court Justice of the European Union and the European School of Alicante.

Cecilia Wikström, a member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Swedish Liberal People’s Party and responsible for pushing the legislation through parliament, previously told WIPR that reducing the renewal fees would “avoid generating another surplus” at OHIM.

The council and the parliament's Legal Affairs Committee must now approve the draft reforms before they are put to a vote in the full parliament. Wikström has said she expects a final draft to reach the parliament in September.

For this week's survey, WIPR asks: "In the past year, the US Patent and Trademark Office has prevented the Washington Redskins and The Slants from having trademarks because they are 'disparaging'. Do you think rulings in favour of disparagement violate the applicants’ First Amendment rights?"

We look forward to hearing from you.

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10 August 2015   EU trademark reform has been a long time coming, and its full effects won’t be realised for a while, but right owners operating in the union now have some concrete changes to consider. WIPR examines the implications.