[News] European Commission, a heavy blow for Romania: calls for financial sanctions at the Court of Justice

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European Commission, a heavy blow for Romania: calls for financial sanctions at the Court of Justice

The European Commission decided on Thursday to send Romania to the Court of Justice, requesting financial sanctions, due to the fact that it did not communicate the measures for transposing the Trademarks Directive into national law (Directive (EU) 2015/2436).

Romania is the only Member State that has not yet communicated the measures transposing the directive, the European Commission states.

The Trademark Directive is an important step in further modernizing and harmonizing EU trademark law. This brings a number of significant changes, including a revised brand definition, adapted to the digital age; new reasons preventing the registration of trademarks; new rules on counterfeit goods in transit, as well as new provisions for the harmonization of trademark procedures in all EU Member States, informs Mediafax.

Member States were required to transpose the Directive into national law by 14 January 2019. A reasoned opinion was sent to Romania, which had a period within which to reply. However, despite the fact that it was granted an extension of the deadline for responding to the reasoned opinion, Romania did not communicate the transposition measures. The Commission has therefore decided to refer this case to the Court of Justice of the EU.

The Trade Marks Directive has updated and simplified the Union's legal framework on trade marks. It has introduced a number of significant changes to the substantive law of EU trade marks, such as: a new trademark definition, adapted to the digital age; new grounds for refusal of registration applications and new rules on counterfeit goods in transit. The Directive also introduced procedural provisions for the harmonization of trademark procedures in all EU Member States, taking the EU trademark system as a benchmark.