Major Reforms to EU Trade Mark Law

In 2008, the European Commission began its evaluation of the functioning and interaction of the Community and national trade mark systems. Some 7 years later, in April 2015, the European Commission, In 2008, the European Commission began its evaluation of the functioning and interaction of the Community and national trade mark systems. Some 7 years later, in April 2015, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council confirmed that they had reached political agreement on the most extensive changes to EU trade mark law since the 1989 Trade Marks Directive (2008/95/EC) and the 1994 Community Trade Mark Regulation (207/2009/EC).

On 8 June 2015, the European Council published the final 'compromise' texts on the reform package. The proposals recast the Trade Marks Directive to further align registration procedures in the EU and to make them more accessible and efficient for businesses in terms of lower costs, increased speed, more predictability and greater legal certainty. The Community Trade Mark Regulation will also be revised to provide further cooperation between OHIM and national offices. Importantly, there are also proposals to provide more effective trade mark protection against counterfeits.

The extent of the changes is evident from the increase from 19 articles to 57 in the Trade Marks Directive.

Please see our detailed review of these changes.