The European Community trade marks office (the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market, or OHIM) has announced changes in its fee structure, to be implemented in early May. The rapid implementation of these fee changes has immediate implications for many applicants. We set out below the actions that those who have Community Trade Mark applications (CTMs) might take at each stage, and recommend that anyone contemplating filing new CTM applications should proceed quickly.
Community Trade Mark registration fees will no longer be payable at the end of the registration procedure, saving applicants €850 (around US$1000). This fee reduction is off-set by a small increase in application fees. The new online official fee will be €900 (around US$1100),an increase of €150. The net result is a 40% drop in official fees.
For those considering filing a CTM application the optimum time for doing so is now, before the fee changes are applied. Any applications made now at the lower application fee rate will not reach the registration stage until long after the changes take effect and the registration fee abolished.
Applications currently under examination will benefit from the abolition of the registration fees and applicants need take no action.
Applicants whose applications have gone past the opposition period and have already been officially notified by OHIM that registration fees are payable will still need to pay registration fees.
Owners of applications which are just out of the opposition period are likely to have to pay registration fees, unless there are any delays to the application. It might be possible to take action on behalf of applicants to delay appropriate cases.
Those currently towards the end of the three month opposition period may have to pay registration fees, unless an opposition is filed. This is therefore one circumstance in which an opposition may be good news for applicants, but only if it can be settled quickly so that costs are kept low.
The fee reductions will make a Community Trade Mark particularly attractive compared with national filings in European Community member states. This is in direct contradiction to the original aim of OHIM's fee structure which was set high to minimize the effect on filings at member states' national offices. It remains to be seen whether a drop in national filings will take place.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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