5. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN THE EU
‘How can a trademark or a model or design be registered in all EU Member States?’
‘Is it possible to protect with only one registration procedure a patent in all EU Member States?’
For an answer to these questions, look into the websites and publications presented below.
5. Intellectual property rights in the European Union
5.1. Protection of patents in the EU
5.2. Protection of trademarks in the EU
5.3. Protection of models and designs in the EU
5.1. PROTECTION OF PATENTS IN THE EU
Information source: European Patent Office |
A European patent can be obtained by filing a single application in one of the official languages of the European Patent Office (English, French or German) in a unitary procedure before the EPO and is valid in as many of the 20 contracting states as the applicant cares to designate.
A European patent affords the same rights in the designated contracting states as a national patent granted in any of these states.
How to find info on the website of the EPO?
1) Select at the website of EPO ‘Grant procedure – How to get a patent’ for information about:
2) Select “About us - publications” in order to view a list with useful publications.
Ex.: Patent granting procedure - Guide for applicants
3) Find info about online filing of a patent application (epoline) via:
http://www.epoline.org
epoline® is the name given to the range of online products and services designed by the European Patent Office (EPO) to allow patent applicants, attorneys and other users to conduct their business with the EPO electronically in a state-of-the-art secure environment, protected by smart card or username/password access.
Via epoline® entrepreneurs can
4) Find info about existing registered patents via:
http://www.european-patent-office.org/epidos/epr.htm
The Register of European Patents provides detailed information on all European and Euro-PCT patent applications. The system provides bibliographic data such as title of the invention, classification, publication dates, name and address of the applicant, inventor, attorney and the latest information about the status of the granting procedure of the patent application.
The Community patent, also known as the European Community Patent or EC patent and sometimes abbreviated as COMPAT, is a patent law measure being debated within the European Union, which would allow individuals and companies to obtain a unitary patent throughout the European Union. The Community patent should not be confused with European patents which are granted under the European Patent Convention. European patents, once granted, become a bundle of nationally enforceable patents, in the designated states. This can be expensive for the patentee in that enforcement must be carried out through national courts in individual countries, and for a third party in that revocation cannot be accomplished centrally once the nine-month opposition period has expired. |
5.2. PROTECTION OF TRADEMARKS IN THE EU
Information source 1: Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) |
Information source 2: World Intellectual Property organization: Madrid System for the International |
The Community trade mark offers the advantage of uniform protection in all countries of the European Union on the strength of a single registration procedure with the Office for Harmonization.
Prior to the introduction of the Community trade mark, companies could protect their trade marks throughout the European Union in two ways: nationally and internationally. Registration at national level involves registering identical trade marks in each Member State of the European Union. Registration at international level makes it possible to obtain a number of trade marks the effects of which, in each of the countries party to the Madrid Agreement or the Madrid Protocol designated by the applicant, are the same as national registration. This involves applying to the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva on the basis of a trade mark already applied for and registered in a country party to the Agreement or the Protocol. This route is available only to companies having their headquarters or a real and effective establishment in those countries.
The Community trade mark is both an alternative to, and complementary to, the two previous procedures: each of the three types of trade mark offers a level of protection adapted to specific business needs. The national trade mark offers protection limited to the market of a single country. The Community trade mark offers protection for the entire market within the European Union. The international trade mark meets the particular needs of those who wish to obtain protection also in the countries outside the European Community.
5.3. PROTECTION OF MODELS AND DESIGNS IN THE EU
Information source: Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) |
The registered community design:
- gives the exclusive right to use the design in commerce and take legal action against infringers and to claim damages,
- serves as a deterrent against infringement,
- is a rapidly obtained right with few formalities,
- is a right valid throughout the EU market,
- is a protection that allows you to forbid unauthorized production of your design
in all the EU countries and stop imports into the EU at all possible entry points.