The enlargement of the European Union by ten new Member States that will take place on 1st May 2004 affects the Community trademark (CTM) and the community design (CD) in a significant way.
Both the Community Trademark Regulation and the Community designs Regulation have been amended therefore. The new Articles 142a and 110a, concerning the legal implications of the enlargement, have been added respectively and will be applicable as from the date of accession. According to these provisions, the CTM and the CD applied for before the date of accession "shall be extended to the territory of those Member States in order to have equal effect throughout the Community". The extension will be automatic, and will not imply any specific administrative act or supplementary fees.
With regard to CTMs applied for before the date of accession in particular, the accession of the new Member States shall not affect the examination of absolute grounds. Equally, a CTM filed before enlargement will not be subject to opposition or invalidity proceedings based on a right acquired in the future Member States prior to the date of accession. Nevertheless, CTM applications filed as from the 1st November 2003 can be subject to oppositions based on earlier rights acquired in the future Member States, according to Article 142a (3) of the CTM Regulation. Also, the holders of earlier national trade marks and designs which have been registered, applied for or acquired in good faith in any of the future Member States prior to the accession date, may prohibit the use in that territory of any conflicting CTM or CD.
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