Earlier this month, the Diplomatic Conference on the Adoption of the Protocol on the Protection of Industrial Designs to the Eurasian Patent Convention (Industrial Designs Protocol) was held in Nur-Sultan, the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It was the final stage of the preparatory work of the Eurasian Patent Office and the Contracting States…
Positive political and economic outlook of Bulgaria – report by Expat Capital
Expat Capital is the largest independent asset management company in Bulgaria, offering personalized long-term financial planning strategies. The company is a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria.
EPO has revised the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal
The revised Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA) were adopted by the Boards of Appeal Committee of EPO on 4 April 2019 and were unanimously approved by the Administrative Council at its 160th meeting on 26 and 27 June 2019.
New rules on whether or not appeals to proceed in cases which have already been considered twice
According to the Court of Justice of the European Union, appeals in cases which have already been considered twice will be allowed to proceed, wholly or in part, only where they raise an issue that is significant with respect to the unity, consistency or development of EU law.
EPO issues Guidelines for Examination concerning Artificial intelligence and machine learning
For the first time, the European Patent Office (EPO) has issued guidance on the patentability of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. The guidance will become valid on 1 November 2018. According to the Guidelines: Artificial intelligence and machine learning are based on computational models and algorithms for classification, clustering, regression and dimensionality reduction, such…
Draft Withdrawal Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union
On 28.02.2018 was published the Draft Withdrawal Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community. Thе Draft Withdrawal Agreement sets out the arrangements for the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union…
Brexit preparedness notice
NOTICE TO HOLDERS OF AND APPLICANTS FOR EUROPEAN UNION TRADE MARKS PURSUANT TO REGULATION (EU) 2017/1001 ON THE EUROPEAN UNION TRADE MARK AND TO HOLDERS OF AND APPLICANTS FOR COMMUNITY DESIGNS PURSUANT TO REGULATION (EC) NO 6/2002 ON COMMUNITY DESIGNS The United Kingdom submitted on 29 March 2017 the notification of its intention to withdraw…
Certification marks – new provisions in EUTM Law since 01.10.2017
Certification marks are a new kind of trade mark at EU level, although they have existed in certain national level systems in the EU for some years. The European Union certification mark is defined as a mark that is “capable of distinguishing goods or services which are certified by the proprietor of the mark in…
Graphical representation – types of mark, changes in EUTM Law since 01.10.2017
The graphical representation requirement no longer applies when submitting a trade mark application as and from 1 October 2017. This means that, from that date, signs can be represented in any appropriate form using generally available technology, as long as the representation is clear, precise, self-contained, easily accessible, intelligible, durable and objective. The result is a ‘what you see is…
Changes in EU legislation regarding Community trade marks
On 23 March 2016, Regulation (EU) 2015/2424 of the European Parliament and the Council amending the Community trade mark regulation (the Amending Regulation) entered into force. Among other things, the Amending Regulation changed: the name of the Office to the European Union Intellectual Property Office; the name of the trade mark administered by the Office to…