眾律國際法律事務所

德意志聯邦共和國

Bundesrepublik Deutschland

（Federal Republic of Germany）

語言： 德語

首都： 柏林（Berlin）

面積： 357,121平方公里

地理位置：
位於歐洲心臟地帶，東鄰波蘭、捷克，西接荷、比、盧及法國，南界瑞士、奧地利，北至丹麥及波羅的海。

愛沙尼亞共和國

Eesti Vabariik

（Republic of Estonia）

捷克共和國

Česká republika

（Czech Republic）

語言： 捷克語

首都： 布拉格（Praque）

面積： 78,866平方公里

地理位置：
歐洲中部內陸國家，北鄰波蘭，東接斯洛伐克，南鄰奧地利，西與西北與德國接壤。

人口： 約10,528,477人

匈牙利

Magyarország

（Hungary）

語言： 匈牙利語（Hungarian）

首都： 布達佩斯（Budapest）

面積：93,030平方公里

地理位置：
匈牙利位於喀爾巴阡盆地，北接斯洛伐克，東臨羅馬尼亞，南接斯洛維尼亞、克羅埃西亞、塞爾維亞，奧地利及烏克蘭分別在其西北和東北方。

人口： 約983萬人

北馬其頓共和國

Република Северна Македонија

（Republic of North Macedonia）

語言： 馬其頓語

首都： 史高比耶（Skopje）

面積： 25,713平方公里

地理位置：
位於巴爾幹半島，北接科索沃、塞爾維亞與蒙特內哥羅，西鄰阿爾巴尼亞，南接希臘，東鄰保加利亞。

人口： 約210萬人

烏克蘭

Україна
（Ukraine）

芬蘭商標法正在修法，目前由議會進行討論，預計新法會在2019年初正式實施。本次修改目的是使商標法規更符合現今要求並採用歐盟商標法。以下為本次修法重點:

1.指定商品/服務的新規定
    本次修法會影響到2014年1月1日前提交且把尼斯分類標題作為指定商品/服務名稱的新案，商標權人可能會需要具體說明指定商品/服務名稱。
    對於2012年10月1日前提交的新申請案，在案件資料包含類別標題或是說明指定商品/服務的類別即可被接受；對於2012年10月1日~2013年12月31日之間提交的新案，申請人需要提出一份聲明，表示此類別標題指定的商品/服務包含該類別全部的商品/服務。
    然而，根據新的芬蘭商標法，指定類別標題的案件，其指定商品/服務範圍不再涵蓋該類別全部的商品/服務。故我們建議申請人再次檢閱案件的商品/服務是否需要增加，並在下一次辦理延展申請時並在專利局(Finnish Patent and Registration Office)作登記。
 
2.商標圖樣
    依據新法規定，如果能具體描述商標的外觀及特徵，可免提交商標圖檔。此規定有利於申請特殊商標，例如動態商標、聲音商標等等。

Transfer v Change of name of EUTR

During the examination of a pending EU trademark as well as after the trademark has registered, the owner of a trademark may change for various reasons. Some trademarks owners transfer their ownership to a different entity (through assignment or inheritance, for example). In addition, some trademark owners can change their names while retaining ownership. Therefore, these are two different legal concepts, which must be distinguished between each other. As a result, the application for the change of name of a proprietor of an EUTM registration or an application for transfer are two separate proceedings.

In accordance to Article 48(2) of the EUTMR a transfer is an alteration substantially affecting the identity of a trademark as originally registered, which is the key to difference both concepts. The change of identity will determine if a change of name or a transfer takes place. In particular, there is no transfer is involved when a natural person changes their name following an official procedure for changing name, when a pseudonym is used instead of the civil name and if a natural person changes their name due to marriage, since in these cases the identity of the proprietor is not affected.

In case of corporations or legal persons, if there is no termination of the legal entity (for example in the event of a merger, where one company is completely absorbed by and another one and the first one ceases to exist) and no start-up, there is only a change in the formal corporate organisation and not in the actual identity itself. Therefore, it will never be considered as a transfer and it will have to be registered as a change of name. Normally, if the company registration number in the national register remains the same there is no transfer of the company.

Erroneous applications

When an application is made to record a change of name but the evidence shows that it is actually a transfer for a trademark or trademark application (and vice versa, if the application is made to record a transfer but what is involved is actually a change of name), the Office shall inform the applicant and invite him to file the right application. This communication sets a time limit of two months starting from the date of the notification and if the applicant does not agree or does not modify his request the application to record a change will be rejected. The party concerned may file an appeal against this decision.

Transfer of ownership of a European Union trademarks

A European Union trademark (EUTR) may be transferred, which means that the ownership of the property of rights of the trademark or the application changes. This way, either the trademark or the application may be transferred from the current proprietor a new one. Transfer may refer to some (partial transfer) or all of the goods or services.

Registration

The transfer shall be entered in the Register and published upon request of one of the parties. Registering a transfer is not a condition for its validity, but if not registered by the Office, the entitlement to act remains with the original proprietor. According to article 17.8, all documents which require notification to the proprietor of the trademark shall be addressed to the person registered as a proprietor.  As a consequence, the new proprietor will not receive notifications from the Office, in particular, during inter partes proceedings or the notification of the renewal of the mark.

The transfer involves to aspects: (i) the validity of the transfer between the parties and (ii) the impact of a transfer on proceedings before the Office. This impact will only triggered after the Registration of the transfer.

The following are the different kinds of transfers:

Part II. Article 8(1) EUTMR: Concept of likelihood of confusion

The notion of ‘likelihood of confusion’ fulfils a very significant role in the Community trademark System. According to Article 8(1)(b) EUTMR, in contrast to situations of double identity as seen in Part I, in cases of mere similarity between the signs and the goods or services, or identity of only one of these factors, an earlier trademark shall oppose the registration of a trademark under 8(1)(b), but only if there is a likelihood of confusion.

According to settled case-law, this concept refers mainly to two situations:

1. when the public directly confuses both trademarks (mistakes one for the other);
2. when the public makes a connection between both conflicting trademarks and assumes that the goods or services are from the same or economically linked undertakings. This is known as likelihood of association and it is included in the concept of likelihood of confusion.

As a general ideal, a trademark will be considered confusingly similar to a prior trademark if, when used for similar goods or services, so closely resembles the prior mark that there is a likelihood of consumers being misled as to the nature or origin of the goods or services. The distinguishing role of the trademark will not be functioning if the consumer is confused between the trademarks.  

The ECJ considered comprehensively this notion in Sabel v Puma.

First of all, the existence of a likelihood of confusion must be appreciated globally with regard to the way in in which the relevant public perceives the trademarks and goods or services, and always taking into account all factors relevant to the circumstances of the case, specially the interdependence of the degree of similarity of the trademarks and the similarity of the goods and services. A global appreciation is necessary, since an average consumer normally perceives a mark as a whole and does not proceed to analyse its various details.

Part I. Article 8(1) EUTMR: Double identity and concept of identity.  

Article 8 of the European Union Trademark Regulation states the different grounds on which an opposition may be based. In other words, it enables the proprietor of an earlier trademark to oppose the registration of a later trademark application in a different range of situations. We will only concentrate on article 8(1), which states two different situations:

1. Upon opposition by the proprietor of an earlier trademark, the trademark applied for shall not be registered:

(a) if it is identical with the earlier trademark and the goods or services for which registration is applied for are identical with goods or services for which the earlier trademark is protected;

(b) if because of its identity with, or similarity to, the earlier trademark and the identity or similarity of the goods or services covered by the trademarks there exists a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public in the territory in which the earlier trademark is protected; the likelihood of confusion includes the likelihood of association with the earlier trademark.

This way, (a) provides for oppositions based on exact identity, while (b), in contrast, is based on cases of mere similarity between the signs and goods/services, or also identity, but only if there is a likelihood of confusion.

Grounds for opposition according to the European Union Trademark Regulation

Opposition is a legal proceeding in which a third party seeks to prevent a pending application for a trademark from being granted registration. This way, according to Article 8 EUTMR upon opposition by the proprietor of an earlier trade mark, the trade mark applied for shall not be registered. In case of the European Union trademarks, this procedure will take place before the EUIPO.

The grounds on which an opposition may be based are called relative grounds for refusal, which are found in Article 8 EUTMR, and are different to the absolute grounds for refusal from Article 7. The difference between these two kind of grounds is that relative grounds are inter partes proceedings, and concern earlier rights that take precedence over the EU trademark in accordance with the principle of priority. On the other hand, absolute grounds are examined ex-officio by the office during the registration procedure.

Therefore, the onus is on the earlier right owner to be observant and vigilant concerning the filing of applications by others.

The grounds on which an opposition may be made are set out in Article 8 EUTMR.

This article (1)(a) allows the proprietors of an identical or similar prior trademark registered for identical or similar goods or services to request opposition, when there is a likelihood of confusion. These “earlier trademarks” include (1)(b):

• Community trademarks;
• Trademarks registered in a EU member state;
• International trademark registrations that have effect in an EU member state
• Trademarks that are well known in a Member State in the sense of Article 6bis of the Paris Convention (which need not be registered).

The meaning of “earlier trademarks” refers to those having an earlier date (not hour or minute) of application.

An opposition filed on the basis of Article 8(1)(b) must demonstrate that there is likelihood a confusion between both trademarks, and it must be assessed globally, taking into consideration all factor relevant to the circumstances of the case.

Article 7(1)(b) EUTMR: Distinctiveness as a requirement for trademark registration in the EU

According to article 4 European Union trademark regulation, to be capable of constituting a trademark, the subject matter of an application must satisfy three conditions: (I) it must be a sign; (II) it must be capable of being represented graphically, and (III) it must be capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of others.

When it comes to the third condition, article 7(1)(b) states that trademarks which are devoid of any distinctive character shall not be registered. This article refers to the distinctive character of a trademark with regard to specific goods or services.

1. Word elements. Some words cannot convey distinctiveness to a sign if they are so frequently used that they have lost the capacity of distinguishing goods and services. For example, the word ECO (as denoting ecological) or Premium (as denoting best quality).
2. Title of books. Trademarks consisting solely of a famous story or book may be non-distinctive under this article. For example, “Cinderella” could be a distinctive trademark for clothing, but not in relation to books or films, since this story has become so long established and well known that, according to EU case-law, it has ‘entered into the language’ and is not capable of being ascribed any meaning other than the particular story of “Cinderella”.
3. Colours. When it comes to single colours per se, without any shape or contour, they are not normally inherently capable of distinguishing the goods of a particular undertaking. Furthermore, there is a limited number of colours, which actually means that a small number of trademark registrations could exhaust the entire range of colours available.
4. Single letters. Under normal circumstances, single letters are not registrable, specially in cases of single letters represented in standard characters with no graphic modifications. For example, this trademark will be accepted due to the fact that it provides sufficient distinctiveness:

             The same is valid for numbers.

5. Simple figurative elements. Such as circles, rectangles, lines or common pentagons are unable to convey any message that can be remembered by the consumers and will not be seen by them as a trademark. Example of refused trademarks:

New European Trademark Regulation

March 2016 will see the biggest changes to trademark laws in the EU since the introduction of the Community trademark in 1996. Regulation (EU) No 2015/2424 of the European Parliament and the Council amending the Community trademark regulation was published on December 24, 2015 in the Official Journal of the European Union and it will enter into force on March 23, 2016 (with a few exceptions for some provisions, which will on October 1, 2017). It marks the culmination of work that has been carried for seven years to reform the EU trademark system.

We set below some of the most important features of the Regulation:

(1). First, trademark owners should familiarize themselves with some new terminology. From 23 March, the Office of Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) will become known as the European Union Intellectual Property Office. In addition, what we know as a Community Trademark (CTM)will become a European Union Trademark (EUTM).

(2) A very important change will be the fee structure, since it will change from a basic fee that covers up to three classes of goods and services to a “pay-per-class” system. This means that in practice, applicants will pay a lower fee if they only apply for one class. If the apply for two, it will be the same fee, and if they apply for three or more it will be a higher fee. Additionally, the fees payable for opposition, invalidity or revocation proceedings are all reduces as is the cost of filling an appeal.

全球商標布局 – 俄羅斯國際投資環境介紹

1、俄羅斯人口狀況

    俄羅斯人口約一億四千萬人 ，而俄羅斯土地面積約1,700萬平方公里。人口密度約每平方公里9人，是世界上人口最稀疏的國家之一。多數人口集中在都會地區。因地域廣袤且民族眾多，俄羅斯公民所使用的語言和方言超過100種，其中俄語為大約1億1千萬人的母語（約佔俄羅斯人口的79%）。蘇聯解體後，人口出現負成長，主因為生育率下降及大量移民至他國；由於人口減少，目前俄羅斯勞動力短缺達到了1000萬，在一定程度上會拖累俄羅斯的經濟發展。其中遠東和西伯利亞地區的石油、天然氣和木材等天然資源開發領域，勞動力短缺近50％。

2、俄羅斯經濟狀況

   在1991年前蘇聯解體，俄羅斯宣佈主權獨立後，政局一直動盪不安，經濟改革一波三折；尤其1998年的一場盧布貶值金融風暴，俄羅斯國家財政瀕臨崩潰，經濟成長率呈現負4.9%的局面。一直到普丁主政以後，在他強勢推動新政下，俄羅斯的經濟才逐漸恢復穩定局面，2000年經濟成長創下10%的新高；雖然2001年經濟成長5.0%、2002年又跌回4.3%，但相對於同一期間世界景氣的普遍衰退，整體而言仍格外亮麗。 

    總統普丁積極參與APEC亞太經濟整合進程，在2000年出席APEC 汶萊領袖高峰會議時，他發表了「俄羅斯：新東方前景」報告，強調俄羅斯將在歐洲、亞洲、北美洲間扮演跨境運輸的橋樑角色，以及願意與亞太國家作開發俄遠東區能源，以及推動科技、衛星發射等合作計劃。這正是俄羅斯新東方政策的戰略內涵，此一有利形勢發展是台商前進俄羅斯市場是一大誘因，俄羅斯在航太、機械、生化、光電等高科技領域之基礎研究相當發達，台灣可挾著良好的市場行銷策略和工業設計技術前進俄羅斯建立自己的品牌。