Council Directive 89\/104\/EEC of 21 December 1988, which aims to harmonize the laws of the Member States relating to trademarks, sets out in Articles 4(4) and 4(5) detailed provisions concerning the conditions under which a trademark may be refused registration or declared invalid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to these provisions, a Member State may refuse registration of a trademark or declare it invalid if that trademark is identical or similar to an earlier national trademark and is intended to be registered, or has already been registered, for goods or services different from those for which the earlier trademark is registered. This measure applies particularly where the earlier trademark enjoys a reputation in the State concerned, and the use of the later trademark without legitimate grounds could take unfair advantage of its distinctive character or reputation, or be detrimental to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, a trademark application may also be refused if rights to an unregistered trademark or any other sign used in the course of business were acquired before the filing date of the later trademark. Similarly, the use of the trademark may be prohibited by virtue of a prior right, such as a right to a name, a right to one’s image, copyright, or an industrial property right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The directive also sets out specific cases in which a trademark application may be refused, notably when it is identical or similar to a prior collective mark whose rights expired within three years of the filing date, or to a guarantee or certification mark whose rights expired before the filing date. Moreover, if a prior trademark registered for identical or similar goods or services has not been renewed within two years of the filing date, its proprietor must consent to the registration of the later trademark.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","categories-glossary":[308],"class_list":["post-160372","dictionnaire-dico","type-dictionnaire-dico","status-publish","hentry","categories-glossary-branding-brand-identity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitionary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dictionnaire-dico\/160372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitionary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dictionnaire-dico"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitionary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/dictionnaire-dico"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitionary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"categories-glossary","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitionary.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories-glossary?post=160372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}