CHAPTER 2

SUBSTANTIVE LAW ON TRADE MARKS
SECTION 4

Revocation of trade mark rights

Absence of genuine use as ground for revocation
Article 19
1
A trade mark shall be liable to revocation if, within a continuous five-year period, it has not been put to genuine use in the Member State in connection with the goods or services in respect of which it is registered, and there are no proper reasons for non-use.
2
No person may claim that the proprietor's rights in a trade mark should be revoked where, during the interval between expiry of the five-year period and filing of the application for revocation, genuine use of the trade mark has been started or resumed.
3
The commencement or resumption of use within the three-month period preceding the filing of the application for revocation which began at the earliest on expiry of the continuous five-year period of non-use shall be disregarded where preparations for the commencement or resumption occur only after the proprietor becomes aware that the application for revocation may be filed.

Trade mark having become generic or misleading indication as grounds for revocation
Article 20
A trade mark shall be liable to revocation if, after the date on which it was registered:
1. as a result of acts or inactivity of the proprietor, it has become the common name in the trade for a product or service in respect of which it is registered;
2. as a result of the use made of it by the proprietor of the trade mark or with the proprietor's consent in respect of the goods or services for which it is registered, it is liable to mislead the public, particularly as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of those goods or services.

Revocation relating to only some of the goods or services
Article 21
Where grounds for revocation of a trade mark exist in respect of only some of the goods or services for which that trade mark has been registered, revocation shall cover those goods or services only.