On 22 July 2009 the European Commission published an Invitation to tender for a Study on the Overall Functioning of the Trade Mark System in Europe. On 16 October 2009 the European Commission has awarded the contract for the Study to the Max Planck Institute. The contract was signed in November 2009. The Study has to be performed within 12 months from the date of signature and is carried out by a team under the direction of Prof. Reto Hilty, Dr. Roland Knaak and Prof. Annette Kur.

This website is to inform stakeholders and the interested public about the activities undertaken in the course of the Study, and to provide a platform for input and observations.

Subject matter of the Study are the questions raised by the Commission in the above-mentioned call for tender. Proceeding from this mandate the Institute has developed a work program that focused, as the first part of the study, on investigating the views of the relevant stakeholders on the European Trade Mark system and collecting information from the National Trade Mark Offices.

First, the trade mark user organisations were invited to present their views on the questions in the Commission's tender. Statements were received from the following associations: AIM, APRAM, BUSINESSEUROPE, CNIPA, COAPI, ECTA, EFPIA, FICPI, ICC, INTA, IP FEDERATION, ITMA, LESI, MARQUES, ORIGEN ESPANA, UNION, VFA. On the basis of these contributions the Institute has scheduled a workshop with representatives of these associations on 8th June 2010.

In addition, a representative survey among users of the Community Trade Mark System has been conducted by the "Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach". In cooperation with the Institute, Allensbach drafted a questionnaire that reflects the topics addressed in the Commission’s call for tender. At the beginning of January, the user organisations as well as OHIM were asked to comment on the questionnaire. The survey ran from 8 February until 20 March.

Apart from that, the Institute contacted the National Trade Mark Offices in order to obtain information in particular on their structures, tasks, workflows, registration practices and cooperation with users and other Trade Mark Offices including OHIM. Fourteen offices have been visited and interviewed by members of the team while the others were asked to answer and comment per email to a questionnaire drafted by the Institute.

The Institute is now in the process to evaluate these data and information and to prepare the final report of the Study.

We welcome any further comments on questions raised on pages 20 to 28 of the above mentioned invitation to tender, and we are likewise interested in any other proposals or statements of relevance for the Study. Please send your contributions by email. Click here for contact.