Controversy grows over Benelux decision on trade mark use
01 February 2010
James Nurton, London
An opposition decision by the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) is reverberating around Europe, after it called into question one of the principles of European trade mark law
In the decision, dated January 15, the Office said the conventional view that genuine use of a Community trade mark (CTM) in just one EU member state by definition results in genuine use in the Community "cannot be maintained".
If widely followed, the decision could make the CTM a significantly less valuable right than it is at the moment.
In the case, a firm called Leno Merken filed an opposition based on the trade mark ONEL, but admitted that the mark had only been used in the Netherlands even though it was registered as a CTM. The Office ruled: "Use in only the Netherlands can, given these facts, not be classified as normal use of the invoked right."
Therefore, said the Office, the opposition failed...
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