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Faster Trade Mark Registrations at OHIM

Many of our clients will already know of the existence of the European Community Trade Mark Office, formally known as OHIM (the “Office for the Harmonisation of the Internal Market”).  A Community Trade Mark (or “CTM”) registered at OHIM confers rights which are effective throughout the European Union.  This is a much cheaper way of obtaining trade mark rights in multiple EU member states than filing separate national applications in each country of interest, and it is fair to say that the CTM has, in general, been a considerable success and is well-used.

It is also true, however, that it can take longer to get a CTM through the registration process at OHIM than it takes to get a national trade mark registered at a national Trade Mark Office.  In the UK, for example, it is often possible to get a mark registered within about 3 months (including the obligatory 2 month delay to allow an “opposition period”).  OHIM is looking to become more competitive on this front, and has recently announced a new “fast track” procedure for CTM applications which meet certain requirements.  The “fast track” aims to halve the time taken for a CTM to reach publication and commencement of the opposition period.

Whilst this is good news, applicants should be aware that one of criteria that need to be met if an application is to qualify for the “fast track” route is that the goods and/or services specified in the application must be selected from OHIM’s established list of recognised terms.  We have found this list to be somewhat limiting, and it will not always include the terms which best describe the goods or services of interest.

If you would like to know more about OHIM’s fast track procedure, or indeed about CTMs in general, then please get in touch with your regular Nash Matthews contact.