Romania incurs EU wrath over Trade Mark Directive

Romania has edged closer to EU financial sanctions, after failing to transpose measures of the Trade Mark Directive.

The  EU Commission referred Romania to the  Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on July 2, with a request for financial sanctions.

Romania is the only member state which has not yet implemented transposition measures.

The  Trade Mark Directive upgraded and streamlined the legal framework on trademarks, introducing a  number of significant changes to substantive EU trade mark law.

These include: a new trademark definition adapted to the digital age, new grounds of non-registrability, and rules on counterfeit goods in transit. The directive also introduced procedural provisions to harmonise trademark procedures across EU member states.

EU member states were required to transpose the directive into national legislation by January 14 2019. After Romania failed to do this, the Commission sent a “reasoned opinion”, to which it had the opportunity to reply. After missing this deadline, the Commission granted a further extension.

Romania’s failure to meet this extended deadline led to its referral to the CJEU.

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