euipo

DesignEuropa 2023 call is open till 10 March 2023.

The DesignEuropa Awards celebrate excellence in design and design management among holders of Registered Community Designs (RCDs). Organised every two years by the EUIPO, the awards are divided into three categories:

• The Industry Award
• The Small and Emerging Companies Award
• The Lifetime Achievement Award

Applications for the Industry Award and the Small and Emerging Company Award

To avoid unfair and misleading labels, IFOAM Organics Europe and the French Association of IFOAM Members have brought legal action before the Paris Court of Justice. The organic movements request the termination of the use of environmental labelling of food products that is considered unfair to organic production and deceptive for consumers.

By Eleonora Rosati

When you travel to France, the Eiffel Tower in Paris will be one of the key sites to visit; when you think of Italy, one of that country’s symbols is Michelangelo’s David; as you enjoy the sun setting down in the Spanish city of Logroño, you may well order some Chorizo Riojano to go with your glass of Rioja wine; when you stroll down the streets of Copenhagen, you will admire the beautiful furniture and the distinctive Scandinavian design style on display in local stores.

Approximately 86 million fake items were detained in the European Union in 2021, an increase of almost 31 % compared to 2020, according to a joint report by the EUIPO and the European Commission. However, the estimated value of fake items detained in the EU amounted to over EUR 1.9 billion, a decrease of circa 3 % in 2021 compared to 2020.

From Monday 1 August, a new application programming interface (API) platform as well as a new and improved EU trade mark (EUTM) filing form are available for all customers.

Both tools are key milestones in the ongoing modernisation of the EUIPO’s digital services and take into consideration the input received from customers. The Strategic Plan 2025 commits to developing innovative tools and services using next-generation technologies.

API platform

On 1 August 2022 the EUIPO will launch a new electronic form for EU trade marks (EUTMs) that will make filing applications more user-friendly and efficient.

This is another step towards enhancing our website’s user experience, taking into consideration the input received from our users.

The new online form is more intuitive, easier to use and has new features, including:

In the context of the Strategic Plan 2025, under Digital Evolution Programme, the EUIPO has launched its first EUIPO Virtual assistant in EasyFiling: the EUIPO Chatbot.

The Chatbot was released in December 2021 as a Beta version for trade marks thanks to the close collaboration between CD and DTD. It is also available on EUTM Easy Filing 24/7.It provides general information on basic questions and doubts that users may have when filing online.

Green is the new Gold; The EUIPO has won the 2022 edition of the Green World Environment Awards. The Office was listed in the Climate Change category, and was selected as winner due to our achievements in reducing the Office's energy, paper and carbon consumption which is part of the environmental project – Reduction of the EUIPO’s environmental impact.

On 29 December 2021, under the framework of the European Cooperation Project (ECP8) ‘European Network of Authenticities’, the city of Madrid (Spain) became the sixth certified ‘Authenticity’ of the network, following the Authenticities of Thessaloniki, Sofia, Plovdiv, Mykonos and Banská Bystrica.

Following an agreement signed between the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office and the Municipality of Madrid, a series of IP-related awareness-raising activities will take place locally over the next two years in the newly certified Authenticity.

A trade mark is commonly defined as a sign, for example a word or a logo, that functions as an indicator of commercial origin. So, if I am in the business of making cakes and biscuits, attaching my trade mark to boxes containing such products serves to inform consumers that they come from me.

Standing this essential function of trade marks, it is probably not surprising to learn that their history dates back several hundreds of centuries. Let’s find out more!

Trade marks from the Middle Ages to the 20th century