英國脫歐在即,商標(biāo)該怎么辦?官方解答新鮮出爐!

英國于2017年3月29日提交了關(guān)于其脫歐的通知。在過渡性協(xié)議中就包含很重要的一條:歐盟在商標(biāo)和外觀設(shè)計(jì)領(lǐng)域的規(guī)定自2019年3月30日0時(shí)起不再適用于英國。那么,隨著英國脫歐在即,我們的商標(biāo)該如何處理?

英國脫歐

Preparing for the withdrawal is not just a matter for EU and national authorities but also for private parties.In view of the considerable uncertainties, in particular concerning the content of a possible withdrawal agreement, all stakeholders concerned are reminded of legal repercussions, which need to be considered when the United Kingdom becomes a third country.

脫歐不僅僅是歐盟和英國的事情,它還關(guān)系到第三方。關(guān)于脫歐的協(xié)議內(nèi)容有許多不確定性,現(xiàn)在所有的利益攸關(guān)方都在關(guān)注著英國脫歐后相關(guān)法律的變化。

The questions and answers reflect the current understanding of the EU Intellectual Property Office of the law in the event of the UK’s withdrawal. The answers are therefore given without prejudice to interpretation of the law.

這篇問答反映了歐盟知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)局對英國脫歐引起的法律問題的理解。因此,在不影響法律解釋的情況下,歐盟知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)局給出了以下答案。

官方問答
Q 1:Are EU trade marks protected in the UK?

歐盟商標(biāo)在英國會(huì)受保護(hù)嗎?

A 1:EU trade marks are protected in the EU and not in third countries.

As from the withdrawal date, EU trade marks registered prior to that date will cease to be protected in the UK. Likewise, EU trade marks registered as of the withdrawal date, are not protected in the UK, irrespective of whether they were filed before or after that date.

歐盟商標(biāo)只能在歐盟受到保護(hù),在非歐盟成員國(包括英國)則不受保護(hù)。

以英國正式脫歐日期為準(zhǔn),此前注冊的歐盟商標(biāo)在英國將不再受保護(hù);此后注冊的歐盟商標(biāo)在英國同樣不再受保護(hù)。因此,無論是脫歐前還是脫歐后注冊的歐盟商標(biāo),都不再受英國的保護(hù)。

Q 2:Can the (former) ‘UK part’ of an EU trade mark be transformed into a UK trade mark (application)?

英國脫歐之前申請的歐盟商標(biāo)能否部分轉(zhuǎn)為英國商標(biāo)?

A 2:EU law does not offer any legal basis which would allow for a prospective (that is before the withdrawal date) ‘partial transformation’of an EU trade mark into a UK trade mark (application). Nor does it allow for such transformation to be made retroactively (that is as of the withdrawal date).

目前沒有任何法律依據(jù),允許歐盟商標(biāo)部分轉(zhuǎn)為英國商標(biāo)。英國脫歐后,也不允許這樣的轉(zhuǎn)換。

Q 3:Are UK courts competent in EU trade mark matters as of the withdrawal date?

英國脫歐后,英國法院是否可以處理歐盟商標(biāo)案件?

A 3: As from the withdrawal date, UK courts are not any longer competent for taking measures with effect in the EU or as regards the validity of EU trade marks.

Disputes on the infringement and the validity of EU trade marks involving EU trade mark owners established in the UK have to be settled by EU trade mark courts.

自英國脫歐日起,英國法院將無權(quán)處理歐盟商標(biāo)案件。

在英國提出的歐盟商標(biāo)侵權(quán)及有效性的爭議等必須由歐盟商標(biāo)法院處理。

Q 4:Can an EU trade mark application be converted into a UK trade mark application?

歐盟商標(biāo)申請可以轉(zhuǎn)換成英國商標(biāo)申請嗎?

A 4: An EU trade mark application can only be converted into a trade mark (application) of an EU Member State. In consequence, EU trade marks registered, and EU trade mark applications filed, either before, on or after the withdrawal date cannot be converted into UK trade mark applications, if the conversion request was made after that date.

歐盟商標(biāo)申請只能轉(zhuǎn)換為歐盟成員國國家的商標(biāo)。也就是說,若在脫歐日后提交轉(zhuǎn)換國家申請,那么無論是已注冊商標(biāo)或是申請中的商標(biāo)均不能轉(zhuǎn)換為英國商標(biāo)申請;若在英國脫歐前提交,則可以轉(zhuǎn)換為英國商標(biāo)。

Q 5:Can use of the EU trade mark in the UK as of the withdrawal date maintain the rights conferred by the mark?

英國正式脫歐后,在英國使用的歐盟商標(biāo)可以保留商標(biāo)權(quán)利嗎?

A 5:Use of the EU trade mark in the UK does - as from the withdrawal date – not qualify any more as use ‘in the EU’.
Use of the EU trade mark in the UK as of the withdrawal date does not count for the purpose of maintaining the rights conferred by the EU trade mark.

從英國正式脫歐日起,在英國使用歐盟商標(biāo)不等同于在歐盟使用;在英國使用的歐盟商標(biāo)將不保留其在歐盟的權(quán)利。

Q 6:Can use of the EU trade mark in the UK before the withdrawal date maintain the rights conferred by the trade mark?

英國正式脫歐前,在英國使用的歐盟商標(biāo)可以保留商標(biāo)權(quán)利嗎?

A 6 : Use of the EU trade mark in the UK before the withdrawal date constitutes, in principle, use “in the EU”.

Use of the EU trade mark in the UK before the withdrawal date counts for the purpose of maintaining the rights conferred by the mark.

英國正式脫歐前,在英國使用歐盟商標(biāo)原則上可被視為在“歐盟使用”。英國脫歐前,在英國使用的歐盟商標(biāo)可以保留其在歐盟的權(quán)利。

Q 7:Can the priority of a UK mark be claimed for an EU trade mark as of the withdrawal date?

英國正式脫歐后,歐盟商標(biāo)能否要求英國的優(yōu)先權(quán)?

A 7: The priority (six months from the filing date) of a trade mark duly filed in any state of the Paris Convention and the WTO Agreement can be claimed for EU trade mark applications. The priority of a UK mark can thus be claimed for an EU trade mark as of the withdrawal date.

歐盟商標(biāo)可以要求《巴黎公約》和《WTO協(xié)定》內(nèi)任意一個(gè)國家的優(yōu)先權(quán)(前提:自申請日起6個(gè)月內(nèi))。因此,英國脫歐后,歐盟商標(biāo)仍然可以要求在英國的優(yōu)先權(quán)。

Q 8:Can EU trade mark (applications) filed as of the withdrawal date be rejected or invalidated on absolute grounds applying on account of their possible meanings in English?

自歐盟正式脫歐后,歐盟商標(biāo)是否會(huì)因?yàn)橛⑽暮x而被駁回或無效?

A 8: English is the (second) official language of two EU Member States (Ireland and Malta). In addition, English terms will often be familiar to a significant part of the relevant public in other EU Member States due to their widespread use in trade and advertising.
An EU trade mark (application) filed as of the withdrawal date can be rejected or invalidated on absolute grounds of refusal applying on account of its meaning in English.

英語是兩個(gè)歐盟成員國(愛爾蘭和馬耳他)的(第二)官方語言。 此外,由于其在貿(mào)易和廣告中的廣泛使用,其他歐盟成員國中相關(guān)公眾也更熟悉英語。因此,自英國脫歐日起提交的歐盟商標(biāo)(申請)還是可能因?yàn)橛⒄Z含義作為絕對理由而被駁回或無效。

Q 9:Is an EU trade mark filed as of the withdrawal date rejected or invalidated where an absolute ground of refusal or invalidity only exists in the UK?

當(dāng)英國脫歐后,如果歐盟商標(biāo)僅在該國因?yàn)榻^對理由被駁回或無效,該歐盟商標(biāo)會(huì)被駁回或無效嗎?

A 9: Absolute grounds of refusal and invalidity of an EU trade mark need to exist with regard to (part of) the EU - not with respect to third countries such as the UK as of the withdrawal date.

An EU trade mark filed as of the withdrawal date is thus neither rejected nor invalidated where an absolute ground of refusal only exists in the UK.

就歐盟(或者歐盟部分成員國)而言,駁回和無效的絕對理由有必要存在,這與第三方國家(比如脫歐后的英國)無關(guān)。因此,如果僅在英國存在駁回或無效的絕對理由,英國脫歐后申請的歐盟商標(biāo)將不會(huì)因絕對理由被駁回或宣告無效。

Q 10:Is distinctiveness acquired through use in the UK relevant for the registration of a EU trade mark application or the invalidation of a registered EU trade mark?

在英國通過使用獲得顯著性的商標(biāo)是否與歐盟商標(biāo)注冊或已注冊歐盟商標(biāo)無效相關(guān)?

A 10: Distinctiveness acquired through use in the UK is not relevant for EU trade mark (applications) filed as of the withdrawal date. Acquired distinctiveness of a mark needs to be shown in the part of the EU affected by the EU trade mark application’s lack of inherent distinctiveness.

自英國脫歐起,在英國通過使用獲得顯著性的商標(biāo)與歐盟商標(biāo)(或申請)無關(guān)。在受歐盟商標(biāo)申請固有顯著性缺乏影響的歐盟成員國內(nèi),需展示該商標(biāo)獲得的顯著性。

Q 11:Can earlier rights protected in the UK (registered UK trade marks or unregistered rights such as passing off) be invoked in proceedings before the EUIPO against an EU trade mark?

在歐盟商標(biāo)的訴訟中,是否可以援引英國原先已注冊或未注冊的商標(biāo)?

A 11: Earlier rights have to be protected in the EU, either by EU law or by the law of an EU Member State. As from the withdrawal date, earlier rights protected in the UK can thus not be invoked in proceedings before the EUIPO against EU trade marks or EU trade mark applications filed before, on or after the withdrawal date.

歐盟法律或歐盟成員國的法律規(guī)定必須保護(hù)歐盟商標(biāo)在先權(quán)利。從英國脫歐起,原先在英國受保護(hù)的在先權(quán)利將不可援引到歐盟的商標(biāo)訴訟中。

Q 12:Can an EU trade mark application be rejected, or a registered EU trade mark be invalidated, on the basis of an earlier EU trade mark where the relative ground of refusal or invalidity only exists in the UK?

歐盟商標(biāo)是否會(huì)被引用歐盟在先商標(biāo),根據(jù)英國的相對理由,來駁回或無效?

A 12: Relative grounds of refusal need to exist in the EU Trade Mark Regulation by analogy) at the date on which the EU Intellectual Property Office takes a decision on an opposition or an invalidity request based on relative grounds.

As from the withdrawal date, relative grounds of refusal existing only in the UK do not lead to a rejection of a EU Trade Mark application or an invalidation of a registered EU Trade Mark.

歐盟知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)局基于相對理由對異議或無效請求作出決定,因此歐盟商標(biāo)法規(guī)中需要存在相對理由。

自英國脫歐起,僅在英國存在的相對理由不會(huì)導(dǎo)致歐盟商標(biāo)申請被駁回,或歐盟已注冊商標(biāo)被無效。

Q 13:Is use of the EU trade mark in the UK sufficient for being genuine use in the EU?

在英國使用歐盟商標(biāo)是否足以等同于在歐盟真正使用?

A 13:The general principles established by the case-law apply,subject to the fact that use of the EU trade mark in the UK qualifies as use ‘in the EU’ only as far as it relates to the (relevant) period before the withdrawal date .

The significance of the use of an EU trade mark in the UK for the overall assessment of genuine use in the EU will progressively decrease - from potentially sufficient14 to entirely irrelevant - along the five years period following the withdrawal date.

案例法確立的一般原則適用,在英國脫歐前,可以等同。

在脫歐后的五年內(nèi),在英國使用歐盟商標(biāo)對歐盟真正使用整體評估的重要性將逐步降低,從使用可以等同到完全不相關(guān)。

Q 14:Can a design disclosed in the UK be protected as an unregistered Community design?

在英國已經(jīng)公開的專利,在歐盟能否作為未注冊的專利受保護(hù)?

A 14:Yes, provided that the disclosure of the design in the UK occurred before the date of withdrawal. However, its territorial scope of protection ceases to extend to the UK as from the withdrawal date. A design disclosed in the UK as of the withdrawal date cannot any longer be protected as an unregistered Community design.

可以。前提是:在英國脫歐之前。英國脫歐后,在英國公開的專利,在歐盟將不受保護(hù)。

百利來溫馨提醒

It is now only one month left before the Brexit. However, EU sources reveals that Brexit could be delayed until 2021 because the UK needs more time to deal with the various problems about the Brexit.

現(xiàn)在距離英國正式脫歐僅剩1個(gè)月的時(shí)間。然而,又有消息稱:英國很可能會(huì)延遲脫歐時(shí)間至2021年,因?yàn)橛枰嗟臅r(shí)間來處理脫歐的各種問題。

Supposed that the extension of time to Brexit has been raised by the UK, then the uncertainties in IP will surely increase. What the final decision will be and what the pending decision will bring to us?All is unknown.

如果英國提出了延長脫歐的時(shí)間,那么知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)方面的不確定性必然增加。最后是一個(gè)怎樣的決定,這個(gè)決定會(huì)帶給我們怎樣的影響,仍然是一個(gè)未知數(shù)。

百利來提醒:企業(yè)做好戰(zhàn)略布局,才能更好的應(yīng)對英國脫歐的各種問題,需要了解可隨時(shí)聯(lián)系百利來,專業(yè)人員全方位為您解答!

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來源:IPRINTL、中華商標(biāo)協(xié)會(huì)
閱讀:84次

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