New Member States of the European Union
This article was taken from the Venner Shipley Newsletter edition 20
On 1 January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania will join the European Union.
At that point, existing Community Trade Marks (CTMs) will automatically extend to include Bulgaria and Romania. Similarly, Community designs protected or applied for prior to the date of accession will be extended to the territory of those Member States in order to have equal effects throughout the Community without any need to make a separate application or pay fees.
However, the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) has taken precautions to safeguard the rights of owners of existing national rights in the new Member States. Any CTM applications filed in the period between
1 July 2006 and 31 December 2006 can be opposed based on earlier rights in Bulgaria and Romania and such earlier rights can be used to prevent use of the extended CTM in these territories.
It is important to note that any CTM applications filed before 1 July 2006 will be exempt from opposition and any existing CTM registrations will be exempt from invalidity proceedings, on the basis of a conflict with an earlier conflicting registered Bulgarian or Romanian right. However the owner of such an earlier national right would still be able to take action to prevent use of such a CTM.
OHIM has also confirmed that CTMs filed before 1 January 2007, will not be examined on the basis of being descriptive, non-distinctive, generic, deceptive or contrary to public policy and morality in those countries.