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Luxembourg technical assistance programme: « Training on Intellectual Property Rights: Directive 2015/2436 of the EU Trademark Reform Package »
In the framework of the technical assistance cooperation programme for the Republic of Serbia “Strengthening Capacities to implement EU Law”, the European Institute of Public Administration’s European Centre for Judges and Lawyers (EIPA Luxembourg) has delivered the training seminar on Intellectual Property Rights in cooperation with the Ministry of European Integration of Serbia. The seminar took place in Belgrade on 22-23 May 2019 and was supported financially by the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.
The seminar provided a practice-oriented overview of the Directive 2015/2436 on the approximation of the laws of the EU member states relating to trademarks as well as in-depth explanations on the substantial and procedural novelties introduced by this Directive, which has been applicable as of January 2019.
The Directive is part of the EU Trademark Reform Package of 2015 aiming to make trademark registration systems all over the European Union more accessible and efficient for business in terms of lower costs, increased speed, more predictability and greater legal certainty.
The training event focused on the cornerstones of the reform such as trademark protection requirements, trademark rights and other substantial matters, including lessons to be learns from cases of EU Treaty violations introduced against EU member states due to wrongful implementation of the previous directive. The seminar also raised procedural aspects of the Trademark Directive including new types of trademarks and representation requirements, the creation of rights in rem and licensing. Special attention was paid to the so-called “opposition proceedings” under the Trademarks Directive, including grounds of opposition and the opposition procedure.
The seminar also provided useful insights and drew comparisons between practices of selected EU member states and the EUIPO and gave the participants an opportunity to discuss practical issues related to the transposition of the Directive by the EU member states and the current Serbian legislation on trademarks.
