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 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). 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 ...
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 ...
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 omniprese ...
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 ...
", and the inclusion of provisions relating to
Honest Concurrent Use
A concurrent use registration, in United States trademark law, is a federal trademark registration of the same trademark to two or more unrelated parties, with each party having a registration limited to a distinct geographic area. Such a registr ...
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 stat ...
).
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 As ...
. 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.
See also
*
:Trademark law by jurisdiction
*
Copyright law of the European Union
The copyright law of the European Union is the copyright law applicable within the European Union. Copyright law is largely harmonized in the Union, although country to country differences exist. The body of law was implemented in the EU through ...
*
European patent law
European patent law covers a range of legislations including national patent laws, the Strasbourg Convention of 1963, the European Patent Convention of 1973, and a number of European Union directives and regulations. For some states in Eastern ...
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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
Intellectual property law of the European Union
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