Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market
Encyclopedia
The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs), or OHIM ( or , , or , or ) is the trademark
and design
s registry
for the internal market
of the European Union
. It is based in Alicante
, Spain
, and its president is António Campinos.
s and Community Design
s within the European Union
. It carries out registration procedures for titles to EU industrial property and keeps public registers of these titles. It shares with the courts in Member States of the European Union the task of pronouncing judgment on requests for invalidation of registered titles.
The Office is a public establishment which enjoys legal, administrative and financial independence. The Office was created under European Union law
and is an EU agency with its own legal personality. Its activities are subject to EU law. The Court of Justice of the European Union
is responsible for overseeing the legality of the Office's decisions. The Office is responsible for balancing its budget from its own revenue, which is derived mainly from registration fees and fees for the renewal of trade mark protection.
OHIM also used €50 million from the surplus to establish a cooperation fund between its operations and those of the national offices in each member state of the European Union
. A great deal of controversy surrounds the fund and exactly how it should be spent: some commentators suggest that it should be used to commercialize the national offices by improving their technical systems. In an interview with World Trademark Review
, António Campinos, president of the Portuguese IP office, who has been appointed to succeed de Boer as OHIM President from 1 October 2010, said: "It's curious to note that the less sophisticated offices are those that have no financial autonomy."
on trade mark and design issues. These Symposia aim to promote harmonisation in the application of the Community trade mark
and Community design
regulations at all jurisdictional levels and, in particular, at the level of Community trade mark and design courts. These are national courts of the EU Member States which have jurisdiction in disputes concerning the infringement and the validity of Community trade marks and Community designs.
The first Symposium was held in Luxembourg
in 1999; since 2001 it has been held in Alicante
. Judges from both Member States and candidate countries attend these Symposia along with representatives from the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance. Working sessions have focused on absolute and relative grounds for refusing registration of a Community trade mark, proceedings brought before the Community trade mark courts and the impact of EU enlargement on the Community trade mark
system.
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
and design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
s registry
Registry
-Computing:* Windows Registry, a database of configuration settings in Microsoft Windows operating systems* Domain name registry, an organization that manages the registration of top-level internet domain names...
for the internal market
Single market
A single market is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of production and of enterprise and services. The goal is that the movement of capital, labour, goods, and services between the members...
of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. It is based in Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and its president is António Campinos.
Task
The task of OHIM is to promote and manage Community Trade MarkCommunity Trade Mark
A Community M application in any member state can defeat the entire application, a CTM registration is enforceable in all member states.The CTM system is administered by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market , which is located in Alicante, Spain .- Character and advantages :The...
s and Community Design
Regulation on Community designs
Council Regulation No 6/2002 of 12 December 2001 on Community designs is a European Union regulationwhich introduces a unified system of industrial design rights, called Community designs, throughout theEuropean Union...
s within the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. It carries out registration procedures for titles to EU industrial property and keeps public registers of these titles. It shares with the courts in Member States of the European Union the task of pronouncing judgment on requests for invalidation of registered titles.
The Office is a public establishment which enjoys legal, administrative and financial independence. The Office was created under European Union law
European Union law
European Union law is a body of treaties and legislation, such as Regulations and Directives, which have direct effect or indirect effect on the laws of European Union member states. The three sources of European Union law are primary law, secondary law and supplementary law...
and is an EU agency with its own legal personality. Its activities are subject to EU law. The Court of Justice of the European Union
Court of Justice of the European Union
The Court of Justice of the European Union is the institution of the European Union which encompasses the whole judiciary. Seated in Luxembourg, it has three sub-courts; the European Court of Justice, the General Court and the Civil Service Tribunal.The institution was originally established in...
is responsible for overseeing the legality of the Office's decisions. The Office is responsible for balancing its budget from its own revenue, which is derived mainly from registration fees and fees for the renewal of trade mark protection.
Operations and developments
In a report released in March 2008, OHIM announced that due to the strong demand for EU-wide trademarks, the agency had accumulated a budget surplus of nearly €300 million, despite the fact that fees had been reduced by 25%, to around €1,600 in 2005. The agency's head, Wubbo de Boer, publicly advocated further reducing fees, and from 1 May 2009, the cost of having a Community Trade Mark fell by a further 40% to €900 for an online application.OHIM also used €50 million from the surplus to establish a cooperation fund between its operations and those of the national offices in each member state of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. A great deal of controversy surrounds the fund and exactly how it should be spent: some commentators suggest that it should be used to commercialize the national offices by improving their technical systems. In an interview with World Trademark Review
World Trademark Review
World Trademark Review is a website and magazine covering the commercial and international practice of trademark law. Subscribers receive a print magazine once every other month and a daily email newsletter featuring news stories, feature articles and legal updates from a panel of trademark...
, António Campinos, president of the Portuguese IP office, who has been appointed to succeed de Boer as OHIM President from 1 October 2010, said: "It's curious to note that the less sophisticated offices are those that have no financial autonomy."
European judges' symposia
Every two years the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) organises a European Judges’ SymposiumAcademic conference
An academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...
on trade mark and design issues. These Symposia aim to promote harmonisation in the application of the Community trade mark
Community Trade Mark
A Community M application in any member state can defeat the entire application, a CTM registration is enforceable in all member states.The CTM system is administered by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market , which is located in Alicante, Spain .- Character and advantages :The...
and Community design
Community design
A Community design is a unitary industrial design right that covers the European Union. It has both unregistered and registered forms. The unregistered Community design came into effect on 6 March 2002 and the registered Community design was available from 1 April 2003.-Legal basis:Council...
regulations at all jurisdictional levels and, in particular, at the level of Community trade mark and design courts. These are national courts of the EU Member States which have jurisdiction in disputes concerning the infringement and the validity of Community trade marks and Community designs.
The first Symposium was held in Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
in 1999; since 2001 it has been held in Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
. Judges from both Member States and candidate countries attend these Symposia along with representatives from the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance. Working sessions have focused on absolute and relative grounds for refusing registration of a Community trade mark, proceedings brought before the Community trade mark courts and the impact of EU enlargement on the Community trade mark
Community Trade Mark
A Community M application in any member state can defeat the entire application, a CTM registration is enforceable in all member states.The CTM system is administered by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market , which is located in Alicante, Spain .- Character and advantages :The...
system.
See also
- Benelux Office for Intellectual PropertyBenelux Office for Intellectual PropertyThe Benelux Office for Intellectual Property is the registration office for trademarks and designs in the Benelux. The BOIP was previously known as the Benelux Trademarks Office and the Benelux Designs Office The Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) is the registration office for...
- Community Plant Variety OfficeCommunity Plant Variety OfficeThe Community Plant Variety Office is an agency of the European Union, located in Angers, France. It was established in 1994. Its task is to administer a system of plant variety rights, also known as plant breeders' rights, a form of intellectual property right relating to plants...
(CPVO) - Community Trade MarkCommunity Trade MarkA Community M application in any member state can defeat the entire application, a CTM registration is enforceable in all member states.The CTM system is administered by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market , which is located in Alicante, Spain .- Character and advantages :The...
- Intellectual property organisation
- Trade Mark eXtended Markup Language StandardTM-XMLNote: Article currently under review.The Trade Mark Extensible Markup Language is an XML open standard for the trademark business and for the exchange of trademark information between the Industrial Property Offices and its partners or users....
- European trademark attorney