In the territory of the Czech Republic, protection is afforded by national trade marks, which are registered in the register of trade marks maintained by the Industrial Property Office, as well as by international trade marks and by Community trade marks registered in the register maintained by the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market. In this circular, we shall briefly address the institution of the Community trade mark, the main advantage of which, compared to a national trade mark, is, in addition to the fact that it enjoys protection not only in the Czech Republic but throughout the entire territory of the European Union, also the more benevolent practice of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market in the registration of trade marks (see below). The main disadvantage of a Community trade mark compared to a national trade mark will presumably be regarded by traders as the higher administrative fee associated with it.

The Community trade mark is enshrined in Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the Community trade mark and protects a registered designation with effect for the entire territory of the European Union. An application for a Community trade mark is filed with the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (in person, by post, by fax or electronically) or with the industrial property office of a Member State, or with the Benelux Trade Mark Office. As with an application for a national trade mark, it is necessary to specify the classes of goods and services for which the trade mark is to be registered. It is important to bear in mind that the designation being applied for must not be capable of confusion with any existing national trade mark of a Member State of the European Union. A Community trade mark is then valid for 10 years from the date of filing of the application, and thereafter it must be renewed.

A significant difference compared to the registration procedure before the Industrial Property Office may be identified in the more benevolent assessment of the so-called distinctive character of the designation being applied for by the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market. As a Community trade mark, it is thus often possible to register more general designations than is the case with a national trade mark in the Czech Republic.

The fee associated with the registration of a Community trade mark is currently only one and amounts to €1,050 (in the case of an application made in electronic form, the fee is reduced to €900) and a further €150 for each class of goods and services exceeding three – if the trader wishes to register a trade mark for more than three classes. Also in the case of a Community trade mark, it is not possible to effect registration of a word designation and a combined designation at the same time (that is, by means of a single application and for a single administrative fee). In the event of an interest in registering both a word trade mark and a logo (in the case of a combined trade mark), it is therefore necessary to apply for multiple trade marks.

This text was originally prepared by the law firm Mašek, Kočí, Aujezdský in cooperation with the civic association Association for Electronic Commerce (APEK) as legal circular No 7/2011 intended for members of this association.

This text was translated from Czech to English using an AI translator.