Background
After the Communist regime was overthrown in late 1989, the country experienced a decade of economic instability and decline, led in part by an obsolete industrial base and a lack of structural reform. From 2000 onwards, however, the Romanian economy was transformed into one of relative macroeconomic stability, characterised by high growth, low unemployment and declining inflation. In 2006, according to the Romanian Statistics Office, GDP growth in real terms was recorded at 7.7%, one of the highest rates in Europe. Growth dampened to 6.1% in 2007,[148] but was expected to exceed 8% in 2008 because of a high production forecast in agriculture (30–50% higher than in 2007). The GDP grew by 8.9% in the first nine months of 2008, but growth fell to 2.9% in the fourth quarter and stood at 7.1% for the whole 2008 because of the financial crisis.
Who May Apply?
The right to the trademark belongs to the natural or legal entity
who first filed, as per the law, the application for the trademark
registration.
Registration of a trademark may be asked individually or in common
by physical or legal entities, directly or through a representative
with the address or premises in Romania. The applicant or the holder of the mark who does not reside or have
the registered office within the territory of Romania shall be
represented in the proceedings before the State Office by an authorized
representative residing or having the registered office in
Romania.
Where an application for registration of a mark has been regularly
filed for the first time in another member state of the Paris Union or
member of the World Trade Organization, the applicant may claim
the date of the first filing by means of an application for registration
of the same mark in Romania, on condition that the latter application
be filed with the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks within
six months of the date of the first filing.
What Can Be Registered?
Marks which can be registered may be constituted by distinctive
signs such as words, including personal names, designs, letters, numerals,
figurative elements, three-dimensional shapes, and, particularly,
the shape of goods or of packaging thereof, or combinations of
colors, together with any combination of such signs.
What Cannot Be Registered?
The following marks shall be excluded from protection and may not
be registered:
(a) marks which do not conform to the provisions of "trademark
definition";
(b) marks which are devoid of any distinctive character;
(c) marks which consist exclusively of signs or indications which
have become customary in the current language or in the bona fide
and established practices of the trade;
(d) marks which consist exclusively of signs or indications which
may serve, in trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity,
intended purpose, value, geographical origin or the time of production
of the goods or of rendering of the service, or other characteristics
of the goods or services;
(e) marks which consist exclusively of the shape of the product
which results from the nature of the goods themselves or which is
necessary to obtain a technical result or which gives substantial
value to the goods;
(0 marks which are liable to mislead the public as to the
geographical origin, the quality, or nature of the goods or service;
(g) marks which contain a geographical indication or which
consist therein, for goods which do not originate on the designated
territory if the use of such indication is liable to mislead the public
as to the true place of origin; (h) marks which consist of a geographical indication identifying
wines or spirits which do not originate in the place indicated or
which comprise such indication;
(i) marks contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality;
6) marks which contain, without the consent of the owner, the
likeness or surname of a person of repute in Romania;
(k) marks which contain, without the permission of the competent
authorities, reproductions or imitations of armorial bearings, flags,
state emblems, signs, official hallmarks of control and warranty,
coats of arms belonging to countries of the Union and which are
governed by Article 6ter of the Paris Convention;
(1) marks which contain, without the permission of the competent
authorities, reproductions or imitations of armorial bearings, flags,
other emblems, abbreviations, initials, or denominations which are
governed by Article 6ter of the Paris Convention and which belong
to international intergovernmental organizations to which one or
more countries of the Union are party.
The provisions of items b, c, and d shall not apply if, prior to the date
of the application for registration of a mark and by reason of its use,
the mark has acquired a distinctive character.
Rights
Only a registered trademark grants its owner exclusive rights over
the trademark. The owner of the unregistered mark (excepting notorious
mark in accordance with the Paris Covention) cannot ask to the
competent high court to prohibit the third parties from using, in their
commercial activities, a sign identical or similar for identical products
or services.
Filing Requirements
1) Power of attorney, simply signed. No legalization or notarization
is required.
(2) Name and address of the applicant.
(3) When priority is claimed, it must be stated: country, priority
date and number, and priority document is required.
(4) Specification of goods and services and international classes.
(5) Ten labels whitelblack max. 8 x 8 cm and for trademarks in
colors, 10 labels in colors same size by indicating colors. Not
required for word marks.
Evaluation & Review
An application for registration of a mark containing particulars of
the identity of the applicant, a reproduction of the mark, and a statement
of the goods or services for which registration is requested,
drafted in Romanian, shall be filed with the State Office for Inventions
and Trademarks and shall constitute the regular national filing
of the mark. An application may concern one mark only.
The Romanian Trade Mark Office makes a formal and a substantive
examination. After the substantive examination, a trademark can be
rejected based on the absolute or relative grounds. In order to
overcome the refusal, it is possible to file a response based on arguments
or letter of consent from the owner of the opposed mark.
Duration
The registration of a trademark produces effects beginning with the
date of the regulatory national deposit of the marks, for a period of 10
years. The registration may be renewed for another period of 10 years.
The renewal fees may be also paid in the following six months from
the expiration of the protection period, with the increase of the renewal
fees provided by the law.
Use
(a) Any interested person may require to the High Court of Bucharest,
anytime during protection period of the trademark, the owner
declining of the rights granted by the trademark, if with no justified
reasons, the trademark was not the object of an effective use on the
territory of Romania for uninterrupted period of five years, for the
products or services for which it was registered. This legal provision
applies only after July 23, 2003.
(b) Any interested person may require to the High Court of Bucharest
the cancellation of the trademark registration if the registration
of the trademark was required in bad faith. The action in cancellation
for this reason may be introduced anytime in the period of trademark
protection.
Domain Names
No provision
Enforcement
Law no. 20212000 regarding the enforcement of the Intellectual Property Rights at the custom and the Methodological Rules regarding
the application of the Law (Government Decision no. 30112001).
According to the law, the trademark owner may call upon the help
of the custom authorities in connection with the importation of the
goods into Romania. The official administrative fees for the custom
procedure are in amount of 500 Euros, and if counterfeited products
are seized in 10 days, the owner has to file a legal action to the judiciary
authorities. A security has to be deposited; the range of the deposit
is dependent upon the value of the seized goods.