1. INTRODUCTION
The European Union awards an unique and strong protection in all EU countries. It is an unitarian brand, granting the owner an exclusive right allowing to prevent third companies from using it in their industrial or trade activities.
The trademark can be used either for products or services and consists of every mark that could graphically represent – through words (personal names included), drawings, numbers, letters – the products shape or packaging.
The cost of the Trademark registration is much lower than single registration in two different member states.
2. AIM
1º Unitarian and exclusive protection and: a single legislation applies to a trademarkgranting an unique and strong protection in all EU countries. It is an unitarian brand, granting the owner an exclusive right allowing to prevent third companies from using it in their industrial or trade activities.
2º Bureaucracy reduction and easier management: the unitarian nature of the European Trademark allows to semplify bureaucracy and management:
- SINGLE APPLICATION
- SINGLE MANAGING ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRE
- SINGLE REGISTRATION LANGUAGE
- SINGLE DOSSIER TO MANAGE
3º Reduced costs: simplification allows to significant cost reduction.
The deposit tax for an European trademark application costs 900 EUROS for three classes of products and services.
The registration tax of 850 EUROS has to be paid only when the award of the Community trademark is certain. This tax has to be paid every ten years, if the owner wants to keep the trademark ownership.
4º Possibility to claim the presence of pre-existing national brads: Community trademark was created to integrate national protection systems. If a trademark deposer or owner already owns an identical, already existing national trademark for the same products and services s/he can claim its pre-existence.
5º Priority right: Community trademarkis an addition to national brands protection systems. The deposit date for the Community trademark is the deposits (both national and international) priority date: this is an advantage which can be explioited also if the deposer decides to turn its application for an Community trademark in an application for a national one.
6º An easy-to-respect obligation : the Community Trademark is valid in all European Union countries even if it is used only in a single member state.
7º An enlarged legal protection available to all: to protect one’s own Comunità Trademark it is enough to present a single claim for falsification to the Community Trademarks court. This avoid prosecuting counterfeiters in each member state.
8º A wide range of opportunities to exploit one’s own rights on the Trademark: community trademark can be transferred, without any link to the owner company transferring, for a part of the concerned services or products or the whole range. Community trademark can be subject to exclusive or non exclusive licensing. Which can be awarded for the whole territory of the European Union for only a part of it.
9º A pre-existence right to be claimed in all Countries of the European Union: Community Trademark can be claimed as a pre-existing right if compared to subsequent trademarks in all member states.
10º Opportunities from EU enlargement: future enlargements of the European Union (Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia and Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, potential Candidate countries Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia), will further increase the territorial range of Community Trademarks, since existing EU directives will be extended and as a consequence an already registered trademark will be aknowledged also in new member States.
