Brussels, 21/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Brussels on Monday 21 May, the Competitiveness Council decided that the fees of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) for Community trademarks, designs and models should be reduced once again, further to the reduction of 2005. “This fee reduction strengthens Europe as an economic location. In the future, it will be possible to register trademarks and designs through OHIM at significantly lower cost”, said Brigitte Zypries, the German federal justice minister, in a press release. It is now up to the Commission to look into the details of the reduction of fees invoiced by OHIM for the tabling, registration and renewing of Community trademarks. The setting of the sum for future taxes will be accompanied by a “very complete impact study”, the ministers with responsibility for competitiveness stress in the conclusions which they adopted on Monday.
The Competitiveness Council also called upon the Commission to “start work on a comprehensive study on the overall functioning of the Community trademark system”. This study should: - “analyse the use of certain criteria which could facilitate further reductions of Community trademark fees”, with these criteria respecting the principles of prudence and sound financial management and guarantee a reliable and transparent system of fees; - “evaluate the existing framework of cooperation of OHIM and national trade mark offices” and explore possible instruments to finance such cooperation; - “assess the coexistence of the Community trade mark system and national trade marks”; - “evaluate the effects of the Community trade mark system on its users, in particular on SMEs and start-up enterprises”. Ministers also stress “the need for Community-wide trademark and designs databases”.
The OHIM, which was set up in 1996, is funded exclusively through the fees it charges. With the number of applications and registrations exceeding the highest forecasts, the European agency has, year on year, recorded a profit: €135 million in 2005 and possibly up to €375 million in 2010 (see EUROPE 9334). “Now we will repay this profit directly to users,” said Ms Zypries. (mb)