Law No. 4796/2021 (Articles 33-48, Government Gazette 63/April 17 2021) provides the transfer of the responsibilities regarding trademarks from the Directorate of the General Secretariat for Trademarks of the Ministry of Development and Investments to the Greek Industrial Property Organisation (OBI), which is supervised by the Ministry of Development and Investments.
The responsibilities for the Greek trademark of products and services, as provided in Law No. 4072/2012 on trademarks remain in the Directorate of Trademarks of the General Secretariat for Trademarks of the Ministry of Development and Investments. Therefore, based on the new law:
The OBI Is responsible for the physical (paper) and electronic register of trademarks, the trademarks archive, the information systems, the software and the corresponding systems that support the operation of the registry and the archive of the Administrative Commission for Trademarks (Article 35);
The OBI is designated as the competent national authority for verifying the authenticity of the final decisions of the EUIPO (Article 33§5); and
The OBI participates and represents Greece on trademark issues in the EUIPO, WIPO and any corresponding European or international organisation or body and is responsible for all communication and cooperation with these organisations (Article 33§7).
A Joint Ministerial Decision (JMD) of the Ministry of Development and Investments as well as of the Ministry of Finance is expected to regulate all the necessary details of the transfer of organisational, technical and practical nature to complete the transfer of the physical (paper) and electronic register of trademarks, the information and other corresponding systems that support it, the trademarks archive as well as the adequate staffing of ΟΒΙ.
The main objective of this transfer is the assumption of full responsibility by one body as well as the administrative concentration/integration of all branches of industrial property in one entity, thus aiming at a more efficient strengthening of trade. Moreover, this transfer aims at a uniform and unified national policy with regard to all industrial property rights, thus bringing Greece in line with the practice of other countries.
In view of the above, the consolidation of all branches of industrial property in one body can only bring positive results.
E: yangelou@patrinoskilimiris.com
