Hungary

summary

Hungary is member of the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol.

The application process normally lasts 12-15 months, depending on whether official actions are issued or not.

Trademark Prosecution
 
Applications filed after May 1, 2004, are examined ex officio on absolute grounds (inherently registrability) only, relative grounds are examined upon opposition.

Within a period of three months following the publication of a trademark application, (filed after May 1, 2004), proprietors of prior rights can file a notice of opposition to the Hungarian Patent Office on the ground that a mark may not be registered due to conflict with earlier rights as laid down in the Trademark Act.

This system will differ in no way from that of being in use in the CTMR, meaning that such a notice will have to be expressed in writing, contain grounds on which it will be made. Also, upon request of the applicant, the owner of a prior trademark who has given notice of opposition will have to furnish proof on genuine use during the grace period for use, which is currently five years following the registration, or any uninterrupted period of five during the lifetime of the trademark. In the absence of proof to this effect, the opposition will be rejected.

Consent

It is a significant new regulation that in case of identical or confusingly similar marks the consent of the rightful owner of the prior right automatically averts the obstacle of registration, without discretionary jurisdiction of the authority.

Protection

Trademark protection is obtained by registration, with retroactive effect to the date of filing. Trademark protection has duration of ten years, beginning on the date of filing the application and can be renewed for further periods of ten years.

Use of the Trademark

The proprietor of trademark shall, on the basis of trademark protection and within the limits fixed by legislation, enjoy the exclusive right to use the trademark for goods enumerated on the list of goods or to grant licenses to others for its use.

If, within a period of five years following registration or during the existence of the trademark, the owner or his licensee has not put the trademark to genuine use in Hungary in connection with the goods or services in respect of which it is registered, the trademark can be cancelled, unless there are proper reasons for non-use.


 

Head Office

AGIP Building 104 Mecca Street, Um-Uthaina, Amman, Jordan
P.O. Box: 921100, Amman 11192, Jordan
Telephone: (00 962-6) 5100 900
Email : agip@agip.com

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