Trademark protection / Why it’s important to get protection for your trademark / Defending trademark rights – Trademark litigation / How we can help you

 

Protecting trademarks

Trademark rights are recognised and protected on the territory of Romania, under the terms of Law No 84/1998 on geographical indications.

Any sign, such as words, including personal names or designs, letters, numerals, colours, figurative elements, the shape of the product or of the packaging of the product, or sounds, may constitute a trade mark, provided that such signs are capable:

  • distinguish the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings
  • and
  • be represented in the Register of Trade Marks in a manner which enables the competent authorities and the public to establish clearly and precisely the subject matter of the protection conferred on the proprietor.

In order to be recognized, the trademark must be registered at national level through the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks (“OSIM”).

 

Why it’s important to get protection for your brand

First of all, registration of the trade mark with Osim offers protection to its proprietor, giving him the exclusive right to the trade mark and thus ensuring that third parties are prevented from using the mark.

If you do not obtain protection for your trademark, situations may arise where, for example, a competitor may proceed to register the trademark that you use in your commercial activity and thus, by acquiring the rights conferred by registration with OSIM, may prevent you from using the trademark, and all this in a legal manner. Moreover, the latter can also claim compensation from persons who use his trade mark without right.

It is important to note that registering a company in the Trade Register and/or owning an online domain are not sufficient to ensure that the trade mark used is protected and therefore not used by third parties.

Another essential aspect is that the registered trade mark constitutes an asset of the company (the proprietor of the registered trade mark) and is therefore part of the assets of a company.

 

Defence of trade mark rights – Trade mark litigation

Although the procedure for registering a trade mark with OSIM may seem simple at first glance, there are situations where it can become complex.

We refer here to the procedure for opposition to the registration of a trade mark, which may be exercised, under the terms of Law No 84/1998, by any interested person who can justify a legitimate interest.

Another dispute may arise after the admission or rejection of the mark for registration by OSIM, by challenging the decision to register the mark, a dispute which is carried out, in the pre-litigation procedure, before OSIM, and in the appeals before the Bucharest Tribunal and the Bucharest Court of Appeal.

 

How we can help you

Our attorneys, in collaboration with partners – specialized in industrial property, can help you acquire exclusive rights to the desired trademark by registering it with OSIM, while ensuring the protection of the registered trademark in any litigation.