Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
official or officials responsible. They shall be signed by the official or officials, or,
instead of a signature, carry a printed or stamped seal of the Agency. The Executive
Director may determine that other means of identifying the department or division
of the Agency and the name of the official or officials responsible or an identifi-
cation other than a seal may be used where decisions, communications or notices
from the Agency are transmitted by telecopier or any other technical means of
communication.
(m) Community trade marks and the Trade Marks Directive
Article 15(1) of the Trade Marks Directive provides that without prejudice to
Art 4 (which deals with grounds for refusal or invalidity concerning conflicts
with earlier rights) Member States whose laws authorise the registration of
collective marks may provide that such marks shall not be registered, or shall be
revoked or declared invalid, on grounds additional to those specified in Arts 3
(grounds for refusal of validity) and 12 (grounds for revocation) where the
function of those marks so requires.
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Article 15(2) provides that by way of derogation from Art 3(1)(c) (absolute bar
to the registration of trade marks which consist exclusively of signs or indica-
tions which may serve, in trade, to designate the geographical origin of the
goods or services),
Member States may provide that signs or indications which may serve, in trade, to
designate the geographical origin of the goods or services may constitute collective,
guarantee or certification marks. Such a mark does not entitle the proprietor to prohibit
a third party from using in the course of trade such signs or indications, provided he uses
them in accordance with honest practices in industrial or commercial matters; in
particular, such a mark may not be invoked against a third party who is entitled to use a
geographical name.
2. Certification marks
(a) Introduction
It will be recalled that collective marks require a holder whose members use the
mark. This is to be contrasted with certification marks, which allow a certifying
organisation or person to permit traders who comply with the certification
requirements to use the mark as a sign for goods or services. In this way
certification marks are said to be signs of supervised quality contrasting with
collective marks, which do not necessarily imply a claim of quality.
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Certification marks may be used to protect names with a qualitative link to a
particular geographic location, eg the UK certification marks for 'PRO-
SCIUTTO DI PARMA', 'PARMIGIANO REGGIANO', 'PADANO' and
 
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