Trade mark law of the European Union is governed by

European Union law European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...

together with national law within those countries which are also

member states of the European Union The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are party to the EU's founding treaties, and thereby subject to the privileges and obligations of membership. They have agreed by the treaties to share their o ...

. Trade marks may be registered within individual countries, or across the whole of the EU (by means of a European Union trade mark). 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). 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 (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...

countries have introduced a common trade mark applying in their countries, Benelux Office for Intellectual Property 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

under the

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

tort A tort is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, 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 cri ...

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 (accounting), goodwill of a trader from misrepresentation. The law of passing off prevents one trader f ...

", 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 (c. 26) 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 ...

). 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 Asso ...

. The

WIPO The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO was created to pr ...

-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

* {{Trademark law European Union law

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Intellectual property law of the European Union

See also

References

External links