Trade mark law of the European Union is governed by

European Union law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...

together with

national law A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a Federation#Federal governments, federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of ...

within those countries which are also member states of the European Union. Trade marks may be registered within individual countries, or across the whole of the EU (by means of a

European Union trade mark A European Union trade mark or EU trade mark (abbreviated EUTM; named ''Community Trade Mark'' (''CTM'') until 23 March 2016) is a trade mark which is pending registration or has been registered in the European Union as a whole (rather than on a na ...

). In the case of a European Trademark is granted a unitary character that applies protection for that mark across the whole of the EU with certain exceptions. Exceptions include but not limited to: specific language conflicts in a particular reason (see the "Combit" v "Commit" case for example ) as well as the case where there was a previously granted national trademark that would conflict in the case of a given EUTM (article 138 Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32017R1001 ). Within EU member states, national law implements Directives so that the law governing national registrations in each jurisdiction is more or less equivalent; the eventual goal is harmonisation of trade mark law within the EU. The

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...

countries have introduced a common trade mark applying in their countries, abolishing their national trade marks. Certain aspects of law do vary on a country by country basis within the EU, such as the protection for unregistered trade marks within the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

under the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

tort A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

of "

passing off Passing off is a common law tort which can be used to enforce unregistered trade mark rights. The tort of passing off protects the goodwill of a trader from misrepresentation. The law of passing off prevents one trader from misrepresenting go ...

", and the inclusion of provisions relating to Honest Concurrent Use into UK national trade mark law (which have their basis in the 1938 UK legislation rather than the Directive which led to the drafting of the UK

Trade Marks Act 1994 The Trade Marks Act 1994 is the law governing trade marks within the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man. It implements EU Directive No. 89/104/EEC (The Trade Marks Directive) which forms the framework for the trade mark laws of all EU member ...

). Internal market legislation also largely applies to the non-EU countries in the

European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Ass ...

. The

WIPO The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishin ...

-controlled Madrid system which applies in several countries provides a means of streamlining applications on a national level via a single international registration which may have effect in several countries, as designated by the applicant.

References

External links

Handbook on European Trademark Law; Community Trademark Law and European Harmonized Trademark Law
European Union law

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

Intellectual property law of the European Union {{Europe-law-stub

See also

References

External links