On 15 September, during a meeting of the Administrative Council of the Office for the Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) it was decided to reduce by almost 40% the fees for the filing and the registration of Community trade marks (CTMs). The resolution will now be submitted to the EU Commission for definitive ratification, and the reduction of the fees could commence as soon as mid-2009.

In addition to this measure, further reductions and simplification of the fee structure for Community trade marks were proposed, as well as the distribution to the 27 EU member states of 50% of the renewal fees of Community trade marks (as already occurs for European patent annuities).

The reason for this reduction in fees only two years after the previous reduction can be found in the increase in the OHIM financial surplus, which is to date more than €300 million.

It appears evident that the surplus accumulated by the OHIM is an indication of the widespread popularity of the CTM that, in 2007, saw an increase in filings of 14% compared with 2006 (with 88,270 applications filed) and an increase of 50% compared with 2004.

In fact, the CTM has become the favourite instrument to obtain protection within the EU both for European and for international companies. Statistics indicate that 15,300 CTM applications were filed in 2007 by German companies, while 14,000 originated from the United States.

The merit, however, is not only the low costs to obtain registration, but also the short average registration times and the less bureaucratic, more transparent and increasingly computerised procedures adopted by the OHIM.

Micaela Modiano

Modiano & Associati
Via Meravigli 16
Milano I-20123
Italy
Tel: +39 02 85 907 777
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info@modiano.com
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