‘File before November 1’ SOUTH AFRICANS seeking trade mark protection in the European Union (EU) by way of a Community Trade Mark (CTM) would be well advised to file new applications before November 1 this year. That’s according to Ilse du Plessis, a partner at law firm Jan S De Villiers’ Intellectual Property Unit. “Failure to do so could leave them open to opposition from proprietors of earlier national rights to the same or similar trade mark in the 10 new member states despite the fact that the new member states will not to join the EU until May 1, 2004.” One of the main benefits of the CTM registration system is the fact that a trade mark owner can protect his mark throughout the EU with one registration, instead of 25 separate registrations of national coverage by the time the new member states join. The EU and future member countries have agreed that all CTMs and Community Designs (CD) registered or applied for before the date of accession - 1 May 2004 - will automatically be extended to the territory of the new member state. The extension will be without any additional fee or specific request to be made by the holder. “An applicant failing to make the November 1 deadline would therefore risk losing this very important benefit,” Du Plessis says. On May 1, 2004 the EU will expand to include 10 new member states: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The EU will then consist of 25 countries.
