Registering a European Community Trademark ("CTM") is an effective mode of trademark protection granting automatic protection in all 27 member states of the European Union through one registration process. Registration of a Community Trade Mark has the same effect as a National trade mark registration in each member state individually.The procedure is also less costly than separate applications in different Member Sates.
Benefits of a Community Trademark ("CTM")
With a ten year initial protection period, a European Community Trademark (CTM) can be maintained indefinitely by paying renewal fees every 10 years through a single renewal procedure. Use of the trade mark in one EU country is sufficient to prove use in all of the EU member countries. Worthy of note is also the fact that a decision on infringement in one country is enforceable in all other EU member countries with one single infringement action being filed in one country hence eliminating the need to replicate costly infringement actions in each individual EU member state.
Our European Community Trademark Service ("CTM")
Our firm is able to assist the client with the community trademark registration procedure. Chetcuti Cauchi is able to represent the client during the whole procedure including filing of the community trademark registration application and undertaking the necessary searches to determine whether identical or similar community trademarks have already been registered. It is advisable that before filing a Community Trade Mark Application our firm conducts comprehensive searches to determine if the trade mark is available for your use and registration in all EU member states. It is possible that a CTM application is faced with opposition on the prior use or registration of an identical or similar trade mark in any individual EU member state, with the risk that the CTM application is faced with multiple oppositions coming from different EU member countries. Therefore a prior comprehensive search is recommended. Our team also represents the client during the application process as well as during opposition proceedings, if any.
In this area of law, our Intellectual Property Practice Group is able to provide a comprehensive service including assisting clients in choosing the best structure/vehicle to hold their the designs for the purposes of asset protection and fiscal incentives
