Side effects of an effective trademark treatment in Greece

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Side effects of an effective trademark treatment in Greece

Sponsored by

patrinos-logo.png
greece-5944176.jpg

Manolis Metaxakis of Patrinos & Kilimiris says the Law on Trademarks now in force is a radical and healthy development, but uncertainty remains for trademark owners and legal practitioners regarding transitional issues

The new Law on Trademarks enacted in Greece (Law No 4679/2020) is not regarded as a mere implementation of Directive (EU) 2015/2436. In fact, it is a radical legal tool because all invalidity actions of all types – that is, all requests of invalidity/revocation and counter-actions of invalidity/cancellation – are initially, or on appeal, to be decided before the civil courts. According to the law previously applicable, all requests of invalidity/revocation were cases for the administrative courts to decide.

This is a shift towards a promising direction, taking into account that there are specialised panels in the Greek civil courts that maintain exclusive jurisdiction to decide on trademark cases, unlike the divisions of the administrative courts that were competent to hear the same types of cases under the Greek law previously applicable.

However, it is commonly accepted that no one is perfect, and nor is the Greek Law on Trademarks that is now in force. In particular, an issue has arisen as to the proper court to decide on appeals against decisions delivered by the Trademarks Administrative Commission on invalidity/revocation requests that were filed before the new law came into effect.

The transitional rules of the new Law on Trademarks provides that said cases shall be decided according to the law previously applicable. In this regard, there are two theories:

  • This type of case must be decided on the substantive provisions of the law previously applicable but under an appeal that must be filed before the civil courts, as provided by the present law; and

  • This type of case must be decided according to the law previously applicable in all respects; i.e., as regards the substance, as well as the competence, of the relevant court, meaning the administrative court.

The specialised IP court in Athens (a civil court) delivered a judgment on this issue in June 2023, under which the latter view was accepted. In particular, it was held that the civil courts have no jurisdiction to rule on appeal invalidity/revocation requests filed and decided by the Trademarks Administrative Commission before the enactment of the Law on Trademarks that is currently applicable.

This newborn issue is far from being regarded as resolved and much uncertainty is still present, which is not good news for trademark owners and legal practitioners.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

A seminal decision concerning second medical use patents and questions over confidentiality were among the top talking points this fortnight
Managing IP considers some of the key themes from the 2025 Annual Meeting and offers some tips for London 2026
A comparison of the 2024 and 2025 editions of the Managing IP EMEA Awards reveals the firms and companies that have been dominating Europe’s IP market year after year
Tuesday's coverage includes BD tips for aspiring partners, and a foray into the world of SEPs
Exclusive data reveals law firms are failing to go above and beyond for their corporate clients, with in-house counsel saying advisers should consider more transparent billing processes
Arty Rajendra and Gary Moss discuss why ‘thorough and intense’ preparation, plus the odd glass of wine, led to a record FRAND victory for their client
Monday’s coverage includes news of a potentially 'game-changing' trademark development in China and how practitioners are using AI
Managing IP gives a taster of the numbers behind this year’s IP STARS trademark rankings, and looks back at our 2025 award winners
Updates from IP offices, the shifting requirements of in-house counsel, and news of London 2026 were among major talking points on Sunday
Etienne Sanz de Acedo discusses the association’s three-year plan, what he is looking forward to in San Diego, and why London came calling for 2026
Gift this article