Regional Centre of Protection of Industrial Property
Regional Centre of Protection of Industrial Property appears as a necessity, because more managers began to realize that brands, models and industrial designs, inventions are values in business and must be protected, the holders obtaining exclusive rights to exploit them. This provides safety, uniqueness, new opportunities and depth that a civilized way of doing business requires. The appearance of this center in Suceava County aims to boost activity of industrial property and especially to make business people to realize the necessity of protection its objects, while providing advice on the procedures before the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks, access to information, the impact of the community trade mark on the business of our country, access to national and international databases and OSIM publications.
Trademark – is an essential element of business strategy; it distinguishes the products and services of a company from those of competitors.
For the consumer it is the most convenient way to quickly recognize a category of goods and services that was recommended and that experience led to prefer to other products or services of the same nature.
For company, the brand is a way to win and keep a customer. A trademark may be opposed to other trademark, used by competitors, only after registration at OSIM.
Trademark is a sign capable of graphic representation serving to distinguish the goods or services of a natural or legal person from those of other people. They may constitute trademarks-distinguishing marks such as words, including personal names, designs, letters, numerals, figurative elements, three-dimensional shapes and particularly the shape of goods or its packages, color combinations, and any combination of these signs.
Registration of a trademark is not a very simple thing considering that it must meet certain conditions: the verbal elements making up the mark must be easy to pronounce and to remember, the mark must be easily accounted, attractive in terms of appearance and differ from identical or similar brands of products.
Trademarks may be registered in the following forms:
- Verbal trademark – a name, a slogan, written standard;
- Figurative mark – a graphic element that does not contain letters or numbers;
- Combined trademark – a written denomination with a special graphics and/or color or a name accompanied by a graphic;
- Tridimensional trademark – trademark that shapes the product or the package or any other specific three-dimensional sign identifying the product or the service;
Trademarks can be protected:
- At national level – your company will acquire protection over the right only in the country where registration is made; trademark registration application is submitted to the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks (OSIM) for trademark registration in Romania or to the specialized offices in other countries in which your company operates;
- At Community level – the right over the trademark is protected in all European Union countries; trademark registration application is submitted to the Office for Harmonization of the Internal Market (OHIM / OAPI);
- At international level – the right over the trademark is protected in the countries mentioned in the registration application according to the Madrid Agreement or Protocol; trademark registration application is submitted to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO / OMPI).
Who can register a trademark?
Any individual or company can register a trademark. They can be registered as trademarks: words, including personal names, designs, letters, numerals, figurative elements, three-dimensional shapes and particularly, the shape of goods or their package or color combinations and any combinations of these signs.
National trademark – is the trademark registered at the national office of each country in which registration is requested.
National trademark benefits from protection only in the country in which the application is filed and only for products and/or services for which it is registered.
To register a trademark in Romania, it is necessary to file an application for registration to the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks (OSIM).
The registration procedure of a trademark in Romania lasts between 9-12 months, unless there are issued Provisional Notice of Refusal or opposition to registration of the trademark made by third parties.
The trademark registered in Romania is protected for a period of 10 years; through trademark renewal, the period may be extended to other periods of 10 years, provided the application for renewal is submitted within the time prescribed by law and all renewal fees are paid.
Community trademark – is the trademark registered by filing an application to the Office for Harmonisation of the Internal Market (OHIM / OAPI), the trademark being protected in all European Union countries.
The advantages of registration of a trademark by submitting the application at the Community level are the following:
- formulation of a single trademark registration application and obtaining protection for that trademark in all European Union countries;
- tracking a single application, subject to the regulations contained in a single act, unlike the case it would have proceeded to deposit several national applications, subjects to the regulations of each country concerned;
- the amount of taxes paid for registration of Community trademark is much lower than that which would have be paid if they would have opted for national trademark registration in each European Union member states.
The procedure for Community trademark registration lasts at least 12 months, unless they are brought opposition to registration of the mark by third parties.
The trademark is protected at Community level for a period of 10 years; through trademark renewal period may be extended to other periods of 10 years, provided the application for renewal is submitted within the time prescribed by law and all renewal fees are paid.
International trademark – is the trademark registered under the Madrid Agreement or Protocol in the countries mentioned in the registration application submitted to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO / OMPI).
The advantages of registration of a trademark by an international request are:
- Formulation of a single application for trademark registration and obtaining protection for that trademark in several countries;
- tracking a single application for changes, additions and other claims which arise during the registration process;
- the amount of taxes paid for registration of international trademark is much lower than that which would have be paid if they would have opted for national trademark registration in each state that presents interest.
The procedure for International trademark registration lasts about 12-18 months, unless there are issued Provisional Notice of Refusal or opposition to registration of the trademark made by third parties.
The trademark is protected at International level for a period of 10 years; through trademark renewal, the period may be extended to other periods of 10 years, provided the application for renewal is submitted within the time prescribed by law and all renewal fees are paid.
Request the offer for national trademark registrations.
PATENT
Patent is an exclusive right granted by the State for an invention that is new, involves an inventive step and can be applied in industry.
A patent may be granted for any inventions of a technical nature concerning a product or process, in all technology fields, including biotechnology if it meets the other legal conditions.
UTILITY MODEL
The utility model protects any technical invention, with condition to be new, to exceed the level of mere professional skill and be susceptible of industrial application.
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN AND MODEL
Design – the appearance of a product or a part thereof, rendered in two dimensions, resulting from the combination of the main features, especially lines, contours, colors, shape, texture and/or materials and/or ornamentation of the product itself.
Model – the appearance of a product or a part thereof, rendered in three dimensions, resulting from the combination of the main features, especially lines, contours, colors, shape, texture and / or ornamentation of the product itself.
“IDEA ENVELOPE” SERVICE
“Idea Envelope” is a way that documents submitted by creators, individuals and companies can be stored and kept safe, non-publicly, by OSIM, comprising works and creations in various fields that cannot be protected by legislation on industrial property and copyright and related rights, in order to certify the submitting date.
The purpose of the Center is to provide and perform on demand a wide range of decentralized service, through which it disseminates public information related to industrial properties, sensitizes communities locally on the need to protect industrial property objects, influences the increasing of number of patent applications, trademarks registration applications or industrial designs and inventions and thus contributes to the renewal of industrial production and increases the youth interest to exploit its own technical creations in the country.
The transformation of mentality locally leads to industrial development, in terms of climate loyal competition, thus preventing violation of the exclusive rights of holders of industrial property rights by imposing some new forms of cooperation (assignment, licensing, leasing, franchising contracts etc.).
The services provided by the Industrial Property Centre:
- Registration of patent application
- Typing request for OSIM
- Design, trademark, model or design
- OSIM Assistance