OHIM - je suis Charlie

On January 16, 2015 the OHIM published on their website a communication to clarify their position in relation to the possibility to register the trademark application "JE SUIS CHARLIE" Here the original text. "As a general rule, OHIM's policy is not to comment on any individual cases of trade mark or design applications either before examination or at any stage of the application and registration cycle. However, the IP issues surrounding the registration of the "Je suis Charlie" mark could be considered to be of overriding public interest. Therefore, according to OHIM's Guidelines for Examination on Community Trade Marks (Part B, Section 4), an application which consisted of or which contained the phrase "Je suis Charlie" would probably be subject to an objection under Article 7 (1) (f) of the Community Trade Mark Regulation, due to the fact that the registration of such a trade mark could be considered "contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality" and also on the basis of Artice 7(1)(b) as being devoid of distinctive character".


01/22/2015 | General - Info