CHAPTER IXPROCEDURE
SECTION 3 Information which may be made available to the public and to the authorities of the Member States
Article 111Register of EU trade marks
1.
The Office shall keep a Register of EU trade marks which it shall keep up to date.
2.
The Register shall contain the following entries relating to EU trade mark applications and registrations:
(a)
the date of filing the application;
(b)
the file number of the application;
(c)
the date of the publication of the application;
(d)
the name and address of the applicant;
(e)
the name and business address of the representative, other than a representative as referred to in the first sentence of Article 119(3);
(f)
the representation of the mark, with indications as to its nature; and, where applicable, a description of the mark;
(g)
an indication of the goods and services by their names;
(h)
particulars of claims of priority pursuant to Article 35;
(i)
particulars of claims of exhibition priority pursuant to Article 38;
(j)
particulars of claims of seniority of a registered earlier trade mark as referred to in Article 39;
(k)
a statement that the mark has become distinctive in consequence of the use which has been made of it, pursuant to Article 7(3);
(l)
an indication that the mark is a collective mark;
(m)
an indication that the mark is a certification mark;
(n)
the language in which the application was filed and the second language which the applicant has indicated in his application, pursuant to Article 146(3);
(o)
the date of registration of the mark in the Register and the registration number;
(p)
a statement that the application is the result of a transformation of an international registration designating the Union, pursuant to Article 204 of this Regulation, together with the date of the international registration pursuant to Article 3(4) of the Madrid Protocol or the date on which the territorial extension to the Union made subsequent to the international registration pursuant to Article 3ter(2) of the Madrid Protocol was recorded and, where applicable, the date of priority of the international registration.
3.
The Register shall also contain the following entries, each accompanied by the date of recording of such entry:
(a)
changes in the name, address or nationality of the proprietor of an EU trade mark or a change in the State in which he is domiciled or has his seat or establishment;
(b)
changes in the name or business address of the representative, other than a representative as referred to in the first sentence of Article 119(3);
(c)
where a new representative is appointed, the name and business address of that representative;
(d)
amendments and alterations of the mark, pursuant to Articles 49 and 54, and corrections of errors;
(e)
notice of amendments to the regulations governing the use of the collective mark pursuant to Article 79;
(f)
particulars of claims of seniority of a registered earlier trade mark as referred to in Article 39, pursuant to Article 40;
(g)
total or partial transfers pursuant to Article 20;
(h)
creation or transfer of a right in rem pursuant to Article 22, and the nature of the right in rem;
(i)
levy of execution pursuant to Article 23 and insolvency proceedings pursuant to Article 24;
(j)
the grant or transfer of a licence pursuant to Article 25 and, where applicable, the type of licence;
(k)
renewal of a registration pursuant to Article 53, the date from which it takes effect and any restrictions pursuant to Article 53(4);
(l)
a record of a determination of the expiry of a registration pursuant to Article 53;
(m)
declarations of withdrawal or surrender by the proprietor of the mark pursuant to Articles 49 and 57 respectively;
(n)
the date of submission and the particulars of an opposition pursuant to Article 46, of an application pursuant to Article 63, or a counterclaim pursuant to Article 128(4) for revocation or for a declaration of invalidity, or of an appeal pursuant to Article 68;
(o)
the date and content of a decision on an opposition, on an application or counterclaim pursuant to Article 64(6) or the third sentence of Article 128(6), or on an appeal pursuant to Article 71;
(p)
a record of the receipt of a request for conversion pursuant to Article 140(2);
(q)
the cancellation of the representative recorded pursuant to point (e) of paragraph 2 of this Article;
(r)
the cancellation of the seniority of a national mark;
(s)
the modification to or cancellation from the Register of the items referred to in points (h), (i) and (j) of this paragraph;
(t)
the replacement of the EU trade mark by an international registration pursuant to Article 197;
(u)
the date and number of international registrations based on the EU trade mark application which has been registered as an EU trade mark pursuant to Article 185(1);
(v)
the date and number of international registrations based on the EU trade mark pursuant to Article 185(2);
(w)
the division of an application pursuant to Article 50 and the division of a registration pursuant to Article 56, together with the items referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article in respect of the divisional registration, as well as the list of goods and services of the original registration as amended;
(x)
the revocation of a decision or an entry in the Register pursuant to Article 103, where the revocation concerns a decision or entry which has been published;
(y)
notice of amendments to the regulations governing the use of the EU certification mark pursuant to Article 88.
4.
The Executive Director may determine that items other than those referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article are to be entered in the Register, subject to Article 149(4).
5.
The Register may be maintained in electronic form. The Office shall collect, organise, make public and store the items referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3, including any personal data, for the purposes laid down in paragraph 8. The Office shall keep the register easily accessible for public inspection.
6.
The proprietor of an EU trade mark shall be notified of any change in the Register.
7.
The Office shall provide certified or uncertified extracts from the Register on request and on payment of a fee.
8.
The processing of the data concerning the entries set out in paragraphs 2 and 3, including any personal data, shall take place for the purposes of:
(a)
administering the applications and/or registrations as described in this Regulation and acts adopted pursuant to it;
(b)
maintaining a public register for inspection by, and the information of, public authorities and economic operators, in order to enable them to exercise the rights conferred on them by this Regulation and be informed about the existence of prior rights belonging to third parties; and
(c)
producing reports and statistics enabling the Office to optimise its operations and improve the functioning of the system.
9.
All the data, including personal data, concerning the entries in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be considered to be of public interest and may be accessed by any third party. For reasons of legal certainty, the entries in the Register shall be kept for an indefinite period of time.
Article 112Database
1.
In addition to the obligation to keep a Register within the meaning of Article 111, the Office shall collect and store in an electronic database all the particulars provided by applicants or any other party to the proceedings pursuant to this Regulation or acts adopted pursuant to it.
2.
The electronic database may include personal data, beyond those included in the Register pursuant to Article 111, to the extent that such particulars are required by this Regulation or by acts adopted pursuant to it. The collection, storage and processing of such data shall serve the purposes of:
(a)
administering the applications and/or registrations as described in this Regulation and in acts adopted pursuant to it;
(b)
accessing the information necessary for conducting the relevant proceedings more easily and efficiently;
(c)
communicating with the applicants and other parties to the proceedings;
(d)
producing reports and statistics enabling the Office to optimise its operations and improve the functioning of the system.
3.
The Executive Director shall determine the conditions of access to the electronic database and the manner in which its contents, other than the personal data referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article but including those listed in Article 111, may be made available in machine-readable form, including the charge for such access.
4.
Access to the personal data referred to in paragraph 2 shall be restricted and such data shall not be made publicly available unless the party concerned has given his express consent.
5.
All data shall be kept indefinitely. However, the party concerned may request the removal of any personal data from the database after 18 months from the expiry of the EU trade mark or the closure of the relevant inter partes procedure. The party concerned shall have the right to obtain the correction of inaccurate or erroneous data at any time.
Article 113Online access to decisions
1.
The decisions of the Office shall be made available online for the information and consultation of the general public in the interest of transparency and predictability. Any party to the proceedings that led to the adoption of the decision may request the removal of any personal data included in the decision.
2.
The Office may provide online access to judgments of national and Union courts related to its tasks in order to raise public awareness of intellectual property matters and promote convergence of practices. The Office shall respect the conditions of the initial publication with regard to personal data.
Article 114Inspection of files
1.
The files relating to EU trade mark applications which have not yet been published shall not be made available for inspection without the consent of the applicant.
2.
Any person who can prove that the applicant for an EU trade mark has stated that after the trade mark has been registered he will invoke the rights under it against him may obtain inspection of the files prior to the publication of that application and without the consent of the applicant.
3.
Subsequent to the publication of the EU trade mark application, the files relating to such application and the resulting trade mark may be inspected on request.
4.
Where the files are inspected pursuant to paragraph 2 or 3 of this Article, documents relating to exclusion or objection pursuant to Article 169, draft decisions and opinions, and all other internal documents used for the preparation of decisions and opinions, as well as parts of the file which the party concerned showed a special interest in keeping confidential before the request for inspection of the files was made, unless inspection of such parts of the file is justified by overriding, legitimate interests of the party seeking inspection, may be withheld from inspection.
5.
Inspection of the files of EU trade mark applications and of registered EU trade marks shall be of the original document, or of copies thereof, or of technical means of storage if the files are stored in this way. The Executive Director shall determine the means of inspection.
6.
Where inspection of files takes place as provided for in paragraph 7, the request for inspection of the files shall not be deemed to have been made until the required fee has been paid. No fee shall be payable if inspection of technical means of storage takes place online.
7.
Inspection of the files shall take place at the premises of the Office. On request, inspection of the files shall be effected by means of issuing copies of file documents. The issuing of such copies shall be conditional on the payment of a fee. The Office shall also issue on request certified or uncertified copies of the application for an EU trade mark upon payment of a fee.
8.
The files kept by the Office relating to international registrations designating the Union may be inspected on request as from the date of publication referred to in Article 190(1), in accordance with the conditions laid down in paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 of this Article.
9.
Subject to the restrictions provided for in paragraph 4, the Office may, on request, communicate information from any file of an EU trade mark applied for or of a registered EU trade mark, subject to payment of a fee. However, the Office may require the exercise of the option to obtain inspection of the file itself should it deem this to be appropriate in view of the quantity of information to be supplied.
Article 115Keeping of files
1.
The Office shall keep the files of any procedure relating to an EU trade mark application or EU trade mark registration. The Executive Director shall determine the form in which those files shall be kept.
2.
Where the files are kept in electronic format, the electronic files, or back-up copies thereof, shall be kept indefinitely. The original documents filed by parties to the proceedings, and forming the basis of such electronic files, shall be disposed of after a period following their reception by the Office, which shall be determined by the Executive Director.
3.
Where and to the extent that files or parts of the files are kept in any form other than electronically, documents or items of evidence constituting part of such files shall be kept for at least five years from the end of the year in which the application is rejected or withdrawn or is deemed to be withdrawn, the registration of the EU trade mark expires completely pursuant to Article 53, the complete surrender of the EU trade mark is registered pursuant to Article 57, or the EU trade mark is completely removed from the Register pursuant to Article 64(6) or 128(6).
Article 116Periodical publications
1.
The Office shall periodically publish:
(a)
a European Union Trade Marks Bulletin containing publications of applications and of entries made in the Register as well as other particulars relating to applications or registrations of EU trade marks the publication of which is required under this Regulation or by acts adopted pursuant to it;
(b)
an Official Journal of the Office containing notices and information of a general character issued by the Executive Director, as well as any other information relevant to this Regulation or its implementation.
The publications referred to in points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph may be effected by electronic means.
2.
The European Union Trade Marks Bulletin shall be published in a manner and at a frequency to be determined by the Executive Director.
3.
The Official Journal of the Office shall be published in the languages of the Office. However, the Executive Director may determine that certain items shall be published in the Official Journal of the Office in the official languages of the Union.
4.
The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying:
(a)
the date to be taken as the date of publication in the European Union Trade Marks Bulletin;
(b)
the manner of publication of entries regarding the registration of a trade mark which do not contain changes as compared to the publication of the application;
(c)
the forms in which editions of the Official Journal of the Office may be made available to the public.
Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 207(2).
Article 117Administrative cooperation
1.
Unless otherwise provided in this Regulation or in national laws, the Office and the courts or authorities of the Member States shall on request give assistance to each other by communicating information or opening files for inspection. Where the Office lays files open to inspection by courts, Public Prosecutors' Offices or central industrial property offices, the inspection shall not be subject to the restrictions laid down in Article 114.
2.
The Office shall not charge fees for the communication of information or the opening of files for inspection.
3.
The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying the detailed arrangements as to how the Office and the authorities of the Member States are to exchange information between each other and open files for inspection, taking into account the restrictions to which the inspection of files relating to EU trade mark applications or registrations is subject, pursuant to Article 114, when it is opened to third parties. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 207(2).
Article 118Exchange of publications
1.
The Office and the central industrial property offices of the Member States shall despatch to each other on request and for their own use one or more copies of their respective publications free of charge.
2.
The Office may conclude agreements relating to the exchange or supply of publications.