I
(Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is obligatory)
REGULATIONS
COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 207/2009
of 26 February 2009
on the Community trade mark
(codified version)
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity, and in particular Article 308 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (
1
),
Whereas:
(1)
Council Regulation (EC) No 40/94 of 20 December 1993
on the Community trade mark (
2
) has been substantially
amended several times (
3
). In the interests of clarity and
rationality the said Regulation should be codified.
(2)
It is desirable to promote throughout the Community a
harmonious development of economic activities and a
continuous and balanced expansion by completing an
internal market which functions properly and offers
conditions which are similar to those obtaining in a
national market. In order to create a market of this kind and
make it increasingly a single market, not only must barriers
to free movement of goods and services be removed and
arrangements be instituted which ensure that competition
is not distorted, but, in addition, legal conditions must be
created which enable undertakings to adapt their activities
to the scale of the Community, whether in manufacturing
and distributing goods or in providing services. For those
purposes, trade marks enabling the products and services of
undertakings to be distinguished by identical means
throughout the entire Community, regardless of frontiers,
should feature amongst the legal instruments which
undertakings have at their disposal.
(3)
For the purpose of pursuing the Community's said
objectives it would appear necessary to provide for
Community arrangements for trade marks whereby under-
takings can by means of one procedural system obtain
Community trade marks to which uniform protection is
given and which produce their effects throughout the entire
area of the Community. The principle of the unitary
character of the Community trade mark thus stated should
apply unless otherwise provided for in this Regulation.
(4)
The barrier of territoriality of the rights conferred on
proprietors of trade marks by the laws of the Member
States cannot be removed by approximation of laws. In
order to open up unrestricted economic activity in the
whole of the internal market for the benefit of under-
takings, trade marks should be created which are governed
by a uniform Community law directly applicable in all
Member States.
(5)
Since the Treaty has not provided the specific powers to
establish such a legal instrument, Article 308 of the Treaty
should be applied.
(6)
The Community law relating to trade marks nevertheless
does not replace the laws of the Member States on trade
marks. It would not in fact appear to be justified to require
undertakings to apply for registration of their trade marks
as Community trade marks. National trade marks continue
to be necessary for those undertakings which do not want
protection of their trade marks at Community level