BRUSSELS - The Council of the European Union (EU) called for an immediate reduction of the fees charged by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) for the application, registration and renewal of trademarks and designs.
This decision was adopted by Member State ministers at a meeting of the EU Competitiveness Council in Brussels, May 21-22, 2007, a press release by OHIM stated.
Trademark s and designs for goods and services may be registered through OHIM, thereby guaranteeing that such goods and services will be protected throughout the entire European Community. In addition, protection remains available under national legal systems.
The European Commission will now work out the details of the fee reduction, in particular the exact amount of future fees. In addition, the Competitiveness Council decided to commission a study on the further development of the Community trademark system.