Yes. Greece is a member of the Madrid Protocol.
Trademarks are mandated to be registered in order for the owners to establish rights. The First to File rule applies in Greece.
The owner of a registered trademark is not required to submit periodic statement of use.
The opposition period will start on the date the trademark application was accepted and published on the website of the General Secretariat of Commerce, and it will end 3 months after that date.
Yes. Owners of registered trademarks establish the following rights:
- Exclusive rights to use the mark
- Right to object to conflicting applications
- Right to request for a cancellation of conflicting applications
- Right to take legal action for infringement and obtain damages from the offending parties
- Right to issue license to third parties
- Right to request for confiscation of fake goods by customs authorities
Yes. Cancellation of registration is possible. These are the grounds for a registered trademark to be cancelled:
- Violation of proprietary rights
- Descriptive marks
- Non-distinctive marks
- Deceptive marks
- Functional marks
- Breach of copyright
- Violation of rights under Article 6septies, Article 6ter and Article 6bis of the Paris Convention (consult us for more information)
- Violation of registered designs
- Violation of rights to personal name
- Marks that are generic or have broad meaning
- Marks that indicate a geographical location
- Registration of marks in bad faith
- Marks that violate standards of moral or public order
- Any interested party may oppose the registration based on absolute grounds.
- Owners of an identical mark that was registered at an earlier date may also petition to cancel the registration.
- A licensee of a registered trademark may also object to registration provided he is allowed to do so in the license contract and the license was registered in the trademark office.
- Chambers of Commerce and Consumers Unions may also oppose based on absolute grounds
Grounds for opposition are:
- Bad faith
- Proprietary rights
- Conflict with an earlier registration
- Breach of copyright
- Violation of rights under Article 6septies, Article 6bis and Article 8 of the Paris Convention
- Conflict with registered designs
- Personal name rights
- Unauthorized use of protected insignia and emblems
No. Actual use is not mandatory for registration. Intent to use is also not required.
You may access the national trademark office at www.gge.gov.gr