The Legal 500

For over 2 years now, the Romanian State Office for Inventions and Trademarks has been supporting the amendment of Law 84/1998 in relation to trademarks and geographical indications.

Finally, on April 9, 2010, Law 66/2010 for modification and completion of Law 84/1998 in relation to trademarks and geographical indications has been published.

Major new changes, which the new law brings, are:

1.    The trademark registration procedure has been adjusted, as following:

- after filing, the trademark application is published (as opposed to the trademark registration which is published according to the current in force legislation) and

- within 2 months from the publication date, interested parties could file observations based on absolute grounds and oppositions based on relative grounds.

2.    The new law explicitly provides now that a trademark is refused to registration or could be annulled based on (i) a previously registered identical or similar community trademark having a reputation in European Union for different products or services or (ii) a previously registered identical or similar trademark having a reputation in Romania for different products or services. This fills the gap existent under the Law 84/1998 in relation to trademarks and geographical indications, amendment which had been previously suggested by us in numerous occasions, including within the prior article published on the Legal 500 site.

3.    The period of time for filing the appeals with respect to the trademark applications and geographical indications have been also modified and are no longer of 3 months.

The new law will enter into force within 30 days from its publication date and the Government Decision to modify the existent Government Decision No. 883/1998 implementing Law 84/1998 in relation to trademarks and geographical indications should follow within 3 months from entering into force of the new law.

by Andra Musatescu, Managing Partner, Ph.D, L.L.M. (Durham, U.K.), Attorney-at-Law, Industrial Property (Trade Mark, Patent, Industrial Design) Attorney, Arbitrator-WIPO, European Trade Mark and Design Attorney

Andra Musatescu Law & Industrial Property Offices
 

13 Septembrie 121, Bl. 127,
Ap. 21, sector 5, Bucharest, Romania
 
Tel.:           004021 411 05 76
Fax.:          004021 781 47 93
Emails:     amusatescu@dnt.ro 
              andramusatescu@andramusatescu.ro

http://www.andramusatescu.ro/