Common Communication on representation of new types of trade marks
One of the key changes being brought in by the new EU Trade Mark Directive allows non-graphical representations of trade marks.
Documents
Details
The Directive allows new ways of depicting non-traditional marks. This is due to the removal of compulsory graphical representation for trade marks. For example, you will be able to upload audio files for sound marks, or moving images for multimedia marks. The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), European Commission and national offices have developed a common communication on this for stakeholders.
These documents give a provisional overview of the definitions, types of mark and file formats each country intends to accept. These depend on progress made by the Member States implementing their national legislation. Thus, the Common Communication is updated every six months.
Having completed a consultation on the UK’s proposed transposition of the Directive, the IPO has now updated this document. It lists the file formats the UK intends to accept from 14 January 2019. This includes files in line with the EUIPO’s ‘mono-format’ approach, to help ensure consistency for users. More detail on the selection of the file types and consultation responses can be found in the government’s response to the consultation.
If you have any comments on this Common Communication document, please contact TMDirective@ipo.gov.uk.
Updates to this page
Last updated 5 June 2019 + show all updates
-
Common Communication on the representation of new types of trade marks updated.
-
Common Communication on representation of new types of trade marks updated.
-
Text and attachments updated.
-
First published.