Brussels, 16/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission will select the external contractor responsible for conducting an exhaustive study on the functioning of the Community trademark system by the end of the month. The study, long awaited by holders of Community trademarks, will look at relations between the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) and national offices, and will assess the appropriateness of amending Community legislation, for example, to harmonise existing procedures at national and European levels. The study is expected to last one year.
When asked by EUROPE on the possibility of a decision that would make use of the financial reserves built up by the OHIM, the head of the agency, Wubbo de Boer, said that this was not the case, the Commission not wanting to deal with this issue at a time when taxes on registration of a Community trademark were being reduced. The OHIM, the only European agency that self-finances its work, has, since it was set up, built up a war chest of some €400 million which it is not legally empowered to use. See our special edition devoted to the OHIM and the Community trademark in EUROPE Documents 2515. (M.B./transl.rt)