The Speeches

Harmonized Enforcement and Enforced Harmony A Play in Three Acts

The Play

Welcome by

  • Jaroslaw Kulikowski, Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Kulikowska & Kulikowski, PL
  • Paweł Poncyljusz, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Economy,PL
  • Max Oker-Blom, President of ECTA, The Fazer Group, FI

    Prologue

Performed by: Erik Nooteboom, European Commission, BE

Performed by: Wubbo de Boer, President of OHIM, ES

Performed by: Ernesto Rubio, Assistant Director General of WIPO, CH

ACT I: Geographical Indications and other rights: War or Peace?

Scene 1 : Geographical Indications and trade marks

Update on the situation of trade mark rights versus Geographical Indications in light of:

  • The WTO Panel Decision on Geographical Indications of March 15, 2005.
  • The Decision of the European Court of Human Rights of October 11, 2005 (ANHEUSER-BUSCH INC. v. Portugal).
  • The outcome of the Ministerial conference held in Hong-Kong in December 2005 as to the extended protection of GIs.

Scene 2: Geographical Indications and generic terms

Update on the situation of Geographical Indications versus generic terms in light of:

  • The Decision of the European Court of Justice of October 25, 2005 on FETA cheese.

Stage Manager:

Max Oker-Blom, President of ECTA, The Fazer Group, FI

Actors:

Critic:

Evelyne Roux, Lawyer, Cabinet Regimbeau, FR

ACT II: Enforcement of IP Rights: The choice of weapons

Scene 1: Civil measures or;

The Directive 2004/48/EC of April 29, 2004 Harmonizing the Enforcement of IP Rights

Directive 2004/EC/48 of April 29, 2004 Harmonizing the Enforcement of IP Rights should be implemented by April 2006.

  • What is the status in the 25 Member States two months after the due date?
  • Are right holders in possession of new and effective weapons?
  • Has harmonization been achieved?

Scene 2: Criminal measures or; The draft Directive aimed at ensuring the enforcement of intellectual property rights through criminal sanctions

The Commission is actively working on a Draft Directive aimed at ensuring the enforcement of intellectual property rights through criminal sanctions.

  • What is the status of this project?
  • What are the implications for IP right holders?

Scene 3: Border measures or; The Council Regulation EC/1383/2003 of July 22, 2003 on border measures

Council Regulation EC/1383/2003, the fourth generation Regulation on border measures entered into force two years ago.

  • What are the practical impacts of the latest changes?
  • Has the simplified procedure and the Community application for customs action met the expectations of right holders?

Stage Manager:

Ignacio Diez de Rivera Elzaburu, IP Attorney, Chairman of the ECTA Anti-counterfeiting Committee, Elzaburu, ES

Actors:

Critic:

Christophe Ronse, Lawyer, Altius Law Firm, BE

ACT III: The IP decision process or the trial

Scene 1: The plaintiff and the defendant or; The Strategies for trade mark enforcement in the EU

What are the advantages and disadvantages of basing a legal action on a CTM rather than on a national mark?

How do the Community Trade Mark Courts operate? Do they meet the expectations of the users?

Scene 2: The decision maker or;

Case Law Harmonization in Europe

Are national decisions consistent with the decisions of other national jurisdictions, the CFI and the ECJ? Is harmonzation possible and how can it be reached?

Stage Manager:

Alexander von Mühlendahl, Lawyer, Bardehle Pagenberg Dost Altenburg Geissler, DE

Actors:

Critic:

Roland Kunze, Lawyer, Wuesthoff & Wuesthoff, DE

Scene 3: The decision or;

The effects of the CFI and the ECJ case law in OHIM and National practice

Review of recent case law regarding CFI and ECJ decisions, relating in particular to questions of public interest.

Stage Manager:

Andrzej Kacperski, Chairman of the Polish Chamber of Patent Attorneys, PL

Actors:

Critic:

João Paulo Mioludo, Attorney, Raul César Ferreira (Herd.) Lda, PT

The Grand Finale

The CTM system and the public interest - are they still compatible?

A controversial issue will be put on the table: is the CTM system still appropriate in the enlarged EU?

Starting from the analysis of the geographical scope of the use requirements for CTMs, the fundamental principles of the CTM system, and amongst others its unitary character, will be reviewed so as to examine whether the CTM system still plays a proper role.

Stage Manager:

Mireia Curell, IP Attorney, First Vice-President of ECTA, Curell Suňol, ES

Actors:

Critic:

Stephen James, Attorney, R.G.C. Jenkins & Co, UK