The Permanent Representatives Committee of the EU (COREPER) has, at its meeting on May 04, 2007, reached unanimous agreement on a set of draft Council conclusions on Financial Perspectives of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) and the further development of the Community trade mark system. The EU Council has been invited by COREPER to adopt these conclusions as an "A" item (i.e. without discussion) at one of its future sessions.
In particular, the EU Commission is called to to immediately propose a reduction of the fees charged by OHIM, in particular of the fees for the application, registration and renewal of Community trade marks; the proposal should be accompanied by a comprehensive impact assessment. Moreover, the EU Commission is requested to start work on a comprehensive study on the overall functioning of the Community trade mark system to be completed as a matter of priority; any future discussions on the fees policy should take into account the results of this study.
The study should in particular:
analyze the use of certain criteria which could facilitate further adaptations of Community trade mark fees and possible ways of their application in the Comitology procedure; these criteria should in particular contribute to a long term balance of the OHIM's budget, ensure a continuous high quality of OHIM's performance, and take account of OHIM's cooperation with the trade mark offices of Member States; the criteria should respect the principles of prudence and sound financial management; in addition these criteria should keep the fee system reliable and transparent for users and its future adaptations predictable;
evaluate the existing framework of cooperation of OHIM and national trade mark offices, with a view to intensifying and broadening the existing instruments of cooperation in the interest of the overall functioning of the Community trade mark system;
explore possible instruments to finance such cooperation, including the establishment of a cooperation fund, if necessary by means of amending Regulation (EC) No 40/94;
assess the coexistence of the Community trade mark system and national trade marks, including the territorial requirements for genuine use of Community trade marks;
evaluate the effects of the Community trade mark system on the overall functioning of national trade mark systems, as well as the contributions of national trade mark offices to the overall functioning of the Community trade mark system;
evaluate the effects of the recent reforms;
evaluate the effects of the Community trade mark system on its users, in particular on SMEs and start-up enterprises, and in particular with regard to competitiveness and innovation.
Hence, it looks as if the Community Trade Mark will soon be cheaper to obtain.
Permanent Representatives Committee of the EU (COREPER) has, 