EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 24.11.2015 COM(2015) 588 final 2013/0089(COD) COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION

TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT



pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union



concerning the position of the Council on the adoption of a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks (recast) (Text with EEA relevance)



2013/0089 (COD) COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION

TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT



pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union



concerning the position of the Council on the adoption of a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks (recast) (Text with EEA relevance) 1.Background Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and to the Council

(document COM(2013) 0162 final – 2013/0089 (COD): 27 March 2013 Date of the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee: 11 July 2013 Date of the opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor 4 February 2014 Date of the position of the European Parliament, first reading: 25 February 2014 Date of adoption of the position of the Council: 10 November 2015 2.Objective of the proposal from the Commission Considered together as a package, the main common objective of the Commission proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks (Recast Proposal) (COM(2013)) 0162 final – 2013/0089 (COD)), which recasts the corresponding Directive 2008/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2008 (Proposal to recast the Directive), and of the parallel proposal for the amendment of the Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the Community trade mark, is to foster innovation and economic growth by making trade mark systems all over Europe more accessible, efficient and effective for businesses in terms of lower costs and complexity, increased speed, greater legal certainty and better protection against counterfeiting. Specifically, the Proposal to recast the Directive aims at: –modernising and improving the current provisions of Directive 2008/95, by amending outdated provisions to take account of the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, increasing legal certainty and clarifying trade mark rights in terms of their scope and limitations. –achieving greater approximation of national trade mark laws and procedures for the purpose of making them more consistent with the EU trade mark system. –facilitating cooperation between the offices of the Member States and OHIM for the purpose of promoting convergence of practices and the development of common tools, by putting in place a legal basis for this cooperation. 3.Comments on the position of the Council 3.1General comments The position of the Council reflects the provisional political agreement reached by the Council, the JURI Committee of the European Parliament and the Commission in informal tripartite discussions on 21 April 2015. This political agreement was confirmed by the Council on 13 July 2015. The adoption of the Council's first reading position and the plenary vote in Parliament mid of December 2015 should lead to the final adoption of the text in an early second reading. From the perspective of the Commission, the compromise reached is reasonable and can be supported. 3.2Comments on the amendments adopted by the European Parliament 3.2.1.European Parliament amendments included in full, in part or in principle in Council's position at first reading The Council's position in first reading encompasses almost all main amendments introduced by the European Parliament, such as the removal of the obligation for Member States' national offices to examine absolute grounds for refusal in all jurisdictions and languages of the Union, and the deletion of the provision giving guidance as to when use of a trade mark by a third party should not be considered in accordance with honest practices. All those amendments can be endorsed by the Commission as being reasonable. The Council also endorsed the deletion of the proposed confinement of the so-called "double identity" rule – regulating protection against the use of identical signs for identical goods or services – to cases which affect the origin function of a trade mark. This can be accepted by the Commission.