Protection for geographical indications is provided within the territory of Romania under the Law on Trademarks and Geographical Indications, No. 84/1998, published in Monitorul Oficial al României (Official Gazette of Romania) No. 161/23 April 1998 and the Government Decree No. 833/1998 approving the Regulations governing the application of Law No. 84/1998 published in Monitorul Oficial al României (Official Gazette of Romania) No. 455/27 November 1998. The Law provides that geographical indications in respect of products shall be protected in Romania by means of their registration with the "Oficiul de Stat pentru Invenţii şi Mărci - OSIM" (State Office for Inventions and Trademarks). Under the provisions of the Regulations governing the application of the Law, any decision of OSIM to register a geographical indication shall be published in the "Buletinul Oficial de Proprietate Intelectuală" - BOPI (Official Bulletin on Industrial Property Issues) within a period of two months; a notification of opposition to the registration may be submitted within a period of three months of the date of publication.
Yes.
No.
Law No. 84/1998 contains a series of regulations to which Articles 22.2 and 23.1 of the TRIPS Agreement relate i.e. Article 76, Article 83, paragraph 1(c), Article 84, Article 86 and Article 87. Law No. 84/1998 on Trademarks and Geographical Indications was published in Monitorul Oficial al României (Official Gazette of Romania) No.161 of 23 April 1998, notified to the World Trade Organization pursuant to Article 63.2 of the TRIPS Agreement and circulated in document IP/N/1/ROM/I/1 of 27 April 1998, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 65 of the TRIPS Agreement.
See reply to Question No. 1 above.
[Answer 1: Protection for geographical indications is provided within the territory of Romania under the Law on Trademarks and Geographical Indications, No. 84/1998, published in Monitorul Oficial al României (Official Gazette of Romania) No. 161/23 April 1998 and the Government Decree No. 833/1998 approving the Regulations governing the application of Law No. 84/1998 published in Monitorul Oficial al României (Official Gazette of Romania) No. 455/27 November 1998. The Law provides that geographical indications in respect of products shall be protected in Romania by means of their registration with the "Oficiul de Stat pentru Invenţii şi Mărci - OSIM" (State Office for Inventions and Trademarks). Under the provisions of the Regulations governing the application of the Law, any decision of OSIM to register a geographical indication shall be published in the "Buletinul Oficial de Proprietate Intelectuală" - BOPI (Official Bulletin on Industrial Property Issues) within a period of two months; a notification of opposition to the registration may be submitted within a period of three months of the date of publication.]
Examples of geographical indications protected as trademarks prior to the coming into force of Law No. 84/1998: - "Dobrogea" for dairy products - "Panciu" for spirits - "Cotnari" for wines - "Murfatlar" for spirits, particularly wines.
Article 5(g) of Law No. 84/1998 transposes the provisions of Article 23.2 of the TRIPS Agreement in relation to any product.
Yes. Under Article 76, paragraph 2, of Law No. 84/1998, persons authorized by the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks to use a geographical indication for wines or spirits may prohibit the use of this indication by any other person for wines and spirits, which do not come from the region suggested by the relevant geographical indication, even where the true origin of the product is specifically mentioned or the geographical indication is used in translated form or accompanied by expressions such as: kind, type, or the like.
Under Article 3(f) of Law No. 84/1998, the "geographical indication" is the name used to identify a product originating from a country, region or locality in a State in cases where a quality, reputation or other characteristics which have been laid down may be essentially attributed to this geographical origin
The definition of geographical indication conforms with Article 22.1 of the TRIPS Agreement.
The Regulations governing the application of the Law provide that a "geographical indication" shall be protected only if there is a close connection between the products to which the geographical indication refers and their place of origin from the point of view of the quality, reputation or other characteristics of the products.
No. The definition of geographical indication conforms to Article 22.1 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Under the provisions of the Regulations governing the application of the law, "a notification of opposition to the registration of a geographical indication may be submitted if a person has a legitimate interest based on an industrial/intellectual property right previously protected with which the geographical indication would be in conflict".
Under Article 69 of Law No. 84/1998, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food or, where relevant, the competent authority of the country of origin of the applicant, certifies the geographical area of production. The Regulations governing the application of the law provide that the applicant shall submit, at the same time as the application for registration of the geographical indication, a specification containing, inter alia, the boundaries of the geographical area of production; if the applicant is a foreign association of producers, the application shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the right to protection in the country of origin.
Under the Regulations governing the application of the Law, in the case of homonymous geographical indications for wines, protection shall be granted for every geographical indication on condition that the geographical indication in question is used in a traditional and constant manner, to describe and display a wine produced in the geographical zone to which it refers.
Yes, in accordance with Article 69 of Law No. 84/1998.
In a case where the applicant is a foreign association of producers, registration of the geographical indication with OSIM is subject to certification of the elements laid down in Article 69 of Law No. 84/1998, by the competent authority of the country of origin of the applicant. If the registration of geographical indication was carried out without complying with the legal provisions, any interested person can make application to the Municipal Tribunal of Bucharest for the revocation of its registration, in accordance with Article 79, paragraph 1, of Law No. 84/1998.
The legislation currently in force only contains the expression geographical indication, in accordance with Section 3: Geographical indications of the TRIPS Agreement. Under the Regulations governing the application of the law, in the case of homonymous geographical indications for wine, protection will be granted for each geographical indication, on condition that the relevant geographical indication is used in a traditional and constant manner to describe a wine produced in the geographical region to which it refers.
Under Article 68, paragraph 1, of Law No. 84/1998, associations of producers who are engaged in a production activity within the geographical zone involving the products indicated in the application, are entitled to request the registration of a geographical indication by OSIM.
OSIM is the sole competent authority from which protection for a geographical indication can be obtained.
The procedures which lead to the recognition of protection for a geographical indication take place ex officio by OSIM, following the submission of an application by an interested person or entity.
Government Order No. 41 of 30 January 1998 relating to fees in the area of industrial property lays down the following fees: (a) Registration of an geographical indication: 2,400,000 lei or $400; (b) issue of a certificate of registration of a geographical indication: 300,000 lei or $50; (c) renewal of the period of use of a geographical indication: 2,400,000 lei or $400.
Under the Regulations governing the application of the law, an application for the registration of a geographical indication must, in principle, contain the following: - The name of the association of producers requesting the registration of the geographical indication; - the geographical indication which is the subject of the application; - the type of products to which the geographical indication refers, an indication of the place of production and the limits of the geographical area of production. The application should be accompanied by a specification containing the following: - A description of the product and its principal characteristics; - the boundaries of the geographical area of production; - the elements which prove that the product originates in the geographical area of production; - other particulars.
Under the Regulations governing the application of the law, a notification of opposition to the registration of a geographical indication may be submitted to OSIM within a period of three months of the publication of the application for registration of the geographical indication. OSIM shall furnish a copy of the notification of opposition to the applicant requesting the registration of the geographical indication so that the applicant may submit his observations regarding the grounds of the opposition. If the grounds of opposition are well-founded, OSIM will reject the application for registration of the geographical indication and publish the decision to reject the application in BOPI. Otherwise, OSIM will register the geographical indication in the National Register of Geographical Indications.
Opposition may be made by any interested person.
The procedure for the recognition in Romania of protection for geographical indications of foreign countries is the same as that laid down by the law for nationals. However, certification of the elements set out in Article 69 is carried out, in the case of nationals, by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and, in the case of foreign applicants, by the competent authority of the country of origin. Article 67, paragraph 2, of Law No. 84/1998, provides that geographical indications which have obtained or are going to acquire protection under bilateral or multilateral conventions concluded by Romania will not be subject to the registration procedure set up under the present law. Under paragraph 3 of the same article, a list of geographical indications in respect of which protection is recognized in Romania pursuant to these conventions shall be registered by OSIM in the National Register of Geographical Indications and will be published in BOPI.
The period of protection of geographical indications runs from the date of submission of the application to OSIM and is unlimited. The right to use the geographical indication is granted to the applicant for a period of ten years, renewable indefinitely, provided that the conditions on which this right was obtained remain valid.
Any person authorized to use a geographical indication may request renewal of the right to use the said indication. The fee for the renewal of the period of use of a geographical indication is 2,400,000 lei or $400, under Government Order No. 41/1998. Under the Regulations governing the application of the law, an application for the renewal of the right to use the geographical indication should be accompanied by confirmation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food regarding the preservation of the characteristics of the products and evidence of the payment of the renewal fee. The provision concerning the said confirmation refers to national applicants only.
Under the Regulations governing the application of the law, the specification attached to the application for registration should contain "references to the procedures to monitor the quality of the products, as well as the competent body to effect this monitoring". Pursuant to Article 77 of Law No. 84/1998, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, ex officio or at the request of an interested person, may undertake to carry out monitoring of the quality of products marketed under the registered geographical indication. Article 79, paragraph 2, of Law No. 84/1998 provides that, for failure to comply with the conditions relating to the quality and specific characteristics of products from the region to which the geographical indication refers, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food or any other interested person may ask the Municipal Tribunal of Bucharest to revoke the rights of parties which were authorized by OSIM to use the registered geographical indication.
The right of use is granted on the registration of the geographical indication; this implies compliance with the criteria laid down by the law to obtain recognition of the geographical indication; there are no additional criteria to be satisfied.
OSIM is the body which authorizes the use of the geographical indication by persons registered on the list included with the application for registration of the geographical indication.
Authorization to use a geographical indication is granted at the time that the application for its registration is accepted. The registration fee is: 2,400,000 lei or $400.
In the event of a dispute arising regarding use of a geographical indication, it is possible to initiate criminal proceedings, under Article 86 of Law No. 84/1998. The criminal proceedings are commenced following prior complaint by the injured party.
No. Authorized users of a geographical indication are not obliged to use this geographical indication continually.
See reply to Question 40.
[Answer 40: No. Authorized users of a geographical indication are not obliged to use this geographical indication continually.]
The legislation currently in force does not require the grant of licences for geographical indications. Under Article 78 of Law No. 84/1998, "the right to use a geographical indication may not be transferred".
Law No. 84/1998 does not provide any specific provisions in relation to the application of Article 24.4 of the TRIPS Agreement. However, the Regulations governing the application of Law No. 84/1998 provide, within the framework of the procedure for the registration of a geographical indication, for the possibility of the submission of a notification of opposition by any person who holds a previously protected industrial property right with which the said geographical indication would be in conflict. If the grounds of opposition are justified, OSIM will reject the application for registration of the geographical indication.
The provisions of Article 16.1, 16.2 and 16.3 of the TRIPS Agreement have been transformed into Article 35, paragraph 2, of Law No. 84/1998. Under the provisions of the Regulations governing the application of the law, a notification of opposition to the registration of a geographical indication may be submitted by a person with a legitimate interest based on a previously protected industrial property right with which the geographical indication would be in conflict.
Yes. Under Article 5(h), of Law No. 84/1998, trademarks which consist of or contain a geographical indication identifying wines or spirits which do not originate in the place indicated are excluded from protection and will not be registered. Pursuant to Article 48(a) of Law No. 84/1998, any interested person may apply to the Bucharest Tribunal for the revocation of the trademark, if registration was made without compliance with Article 5(h) of the same law.
The provisions aimed at the enforcement of rights to geographical indications are contained in the following: - Articles 76, 79 and 83-87 of Law No. 84/1998, published in the Monitorul Oficial al României (Official Gazette of Romania) No. 161 of 23 April 1998 and notified to the World Trade Organization (document IP/N/1/ROM/I/1 of 27 April 1998); - Rules 43 and 44 of the Regulations governing the application of Law No. 84/1998, approved by Government Decree No. 833/1998, published in the Monitorul Oficial al Românei (Official Gazette of Romania) No. 455/27 November 1998 (which has just been notified to the World Trade Organization); - Article 5 of Law No. 11 of 29 January 1991 on combating unfair competition, published in the Monitorul Oficial al României (Official Gazette of Romania) No. 24 of 30 January 1991 and notified to the World Trade Organization (document IP/N/1/ROM/I/Add.1 of 30 January 1998); - Article 301 of the Penal Code, republished in the Monitorul Oficial al României (Official Gazette of Romania) No. 65 of 16 April 1997, notified to the World Trade Organization (document IP/N/1/ROM/1/Add.1 of 30 January 1998).
The party entitled to take action to enforce the rights to a geographical indication is, depending on the particular case, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, any interested person or the injured party.
Any civil action initiated to enforce a right to a geographical indication shall be submitted to the competent judicial authority, in accordance with the law. The fees are those provided for in Law No. 146 on Legal Stamp Duties, published in the Monitorul Oficial al României (Official Gazette of Romania) No. 173 of 29 July 1997 (notified to the World Trade Organization).
Yes. In accordance with Article 72 of Law No. 84/1998, "OSIM shall publish the geographical indication in the BOPI within a period of two months of the date of the decision in favour of registration".
Under Article 86 of Law No. 84/1998, any use of trademarks or geographical indications contrary to fair practice in industrial or commercial operations, aimed at misleading consumers, constitutes an act of unfair competition and is punishable by imprisonment for between one month and two years or by a fine of 15,000,000 lei. Criminal proceedings commence following prior complaint by the injured party.
Yes. The Agreement between Romania and the European Community on the reciprocal protection and control of the denominations of wines. Pursuant to Article 67, paragraph 2, of Law No. 84/1998, protected indications, in accordance with this Agreement in Romania will not be subject to the registration procedure provided for by the law. The list of geographical indications whose protection is recognized in Romania under bilateral or multilateral agreement will be registered by OSIM in the National Register of Geographical Indications and published in BOPI.
Romania has concluded commercial or economic cooperation agreements which contain provisions on "the reciprocal protection of intellectual property". These agreements have been notified to the World Trade Organization, document IP/N/4/ROM/1 of 18 September 1996.
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