EUROPE
November 16, 2015
The European Parliament, European Council and European Commission have reached an agreement in relation to a new European Union trade mark reform package, which represent the most substantial change to EU trade mark law since the Community Trade Mark was introduced
These changes are aimed at providing a simpler registration system, with reduced fees for new applications and renewals, as well as more robust powers for TM owners to prevent the entering and circulation of counterfeit goods within the European Union. The new provisions should start to come into effect in the second quarter of 2016 and will then have to be transposed into national law in a period of three years.