More changes at the EUIPO

A number of important changes arising from the new EU Trade Mark Regulation entered into force on 1 October 2017.  These changes include the introduction for the first time of EU Certification marks, the abolition of the graphical representation requirement, and a number of procedural changes.

EU Certification Marks

Certification marks allow a certifying institution to permit third parties to use the certification mark as a sign for goods or services that comply with their certification requirements.

Graphical Representation

From 1 October, signs no longer have to be capable of “graphical representation”, but can be in any form once they meet the following criteria: clear, precise, self-contained,easily accessible, intelligible, durable and objective.  New guidelines set out the technical requirements for representation of marks, based on the nature of the mark.  For instance sound marks can be represented by an MP3 file, and a hologram by an MP4 file.  This is likely to lead to an increase in the registration of non-traditional marks, such as sound, motion, multimedia and holographic marks.

Procedural changes

A number of other procedural changes entered into force including the possible assignment of a wrongfully-registered EU Trade Mark, the requirement to make a priority claim on the day of filing an EUTM application, the removal of hand-delivery as a valid form of correspondence with the office, and from 1 January 2018, the removal of fax as a means of filing an EUTM application.

Contact us for further details on any of these changes.