This survey deals with the interesting question which date is decisive in the various Member States for the start of the use requirement.

We know that the five years use requirement is imbedded in the Community Regulation.

However, the date upon which one must rely for the starting date is not always easy to determine, especially for national trade marks which have been filed through the international Madrid system.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has dealt with this question in its decision dated 14 June 2007, Case C-246/05. According to the ECJ there is no general rule to calculate such a date. It rather depends on each country because the question of the starting date has not been harmonized within the Directive.

This starting date is rather difficult to establish. Furthermore the practice has changed throughout the years, for instance due to the fact that some countries (recently the Benelux) have decided to make a statement of grant of protection in relation to international trade marks.

The purpose of this survey is to set out the rules for establishing the relevant dates as well as the way to calculate and to find them. These rules are not only explained in relation to direct national trade marks, but also for trade marks filed through the international Madrid System. There are contributions from nearly all Member States of the European Union.

In order to give a first overview of the topic, the survey starts with reflecting the various questions and a short summary of the answers thereto. The second part contains detailed answers for the Member States in alphabetic order.

There are contributions from nearly all Member States of the European Union, except for Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia which are currently not represented in the Harmonization Committee.

The Harmonization Committee hopes that this survey serves all colleagues in need of information as to when the use requirement starts in particular Member States of the European Union.

Thanks to everybody who participated in compiling this survey, especially Ms. Riina Pärn who kindly provided answers for Estonia which is currently not officially represented in the Harmonization Committee.

Carolin Kind, LL.M
Vice Chair of the Harmonization Committee

October 2007