Trademarks

Trademarks are signs capable of distinguishing the goods or services of an undertaking from the goods and services of other undertaking. In the majority of cases, the trademarks are either words, or devices or combination of word and device.

In Romania, trademark protection can be conferred by:
- A national trademark [NM] filed directly with Romanian Patent and Trademark Office. Conversion of CTM applications are examined under national Law.
- An international registration [IR] filed with the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under Madrid Agreement or Protocol and designating Romania
- A Community Trademark [CTM] filed with the Office for Harmonization of Internal Market (OHIM) in Alicante, Spain- see also the section Community Trademarks.

The applications for national marks and the international applications are examined by the Romanian Patent and Trademark Office under National Trademarks Law  for both inherent registrability (the so-called absolute grounds) and for conflict with prior rights. The national Law will change in the near future, one of the major differences being the fact that the Romanian Patent and Trademark Office will no longer examine  ex-officio the applications for conflict with prior rights.

The validity of the national trademarks is 10 years from the date of filing of the application. It can be renewed indefinitely for other periods of 10 years.

Our office can assist the Clients in all the procedures with Romanian Patent Office as well as in case of filing of an International Application based on a national trademark.

Romania is a member of the European Union since January 2007.

A European Community Trademark [CTM] is a single trademark filed with the Office for Harmonization of Internal Market (OHIM) in Alicante, Spain and has in all the countries that are Member States of the European Community.

All the CTMs whose filing date with OHIM is earlier than 1 January 2007 are valid on Romanian territory as of 1 January 2007, whereas all the CTMs filed after this date with OHIM follow the general rule, namely are valid in all the EU countries from the date of filing with OHIM.

The term of validity of a Community Trademark is 10 years from the date of filing with OHIM. This can be extended with successive periods of 10 years.

The attorneys of our office are registered with OHIM and hence we can represent directly for all procedures before OHIM.