Amendments of Law No. 84/1998 on trade marks and geographical indications
Law No. 112/2020 amending and supplementing Law No. 84/1998 on trade marks and geographical indications (“Law No. 112/2020”) was published in the Official Journal of Romania, Part I, No. 603 of 9 July 2020. The enactment came into force on 12 July 2020.
Law No. 112/2020 transposes Directive (EU) 2015/2436 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2015 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks (Recast), published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), Series L, No. 336 of 23 December 2015.
The amendments and additions to Law No. 84/1998 brought by Law No. 112/2020 are significant and include, inter alia, different requirements for trade marks to be registered, different absolute/relative grounds for refusal of a trade mark registration, shorter time limits related to the application for registration, changes to the opposition proceedings, clarifications with respect to the date when the registration procedure is completed and about the time limit for paying the fee for record in the Register of Trade Marks, enhancement of the rights of the proprietors of certain trade marks, removal of the time limit of five years for bringing action for invalidation of trade marks, new administrative procedure in front of OSIM for the invalidation of trade marks or the revocation of the rights conferred by a trade mark (applicable as of 14 January 2023).
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