Trademark Law

In a legislative proposal, the Swedish government says it wants to keep the ex officio examination of relative grounds. This would mean that PRV continues to conduct examination of trademark applications against earlier rights. In the referral of the proposal, PRV and other business organizations had asked for a new trademark law to still include the examination procedure.

The new proposal implies that applicants who get their mark registered in Sweden, like today, will have a clear indication that the mark is not confusingly similar to an earlier right. Since PRV examines trademark applications against earlier rights, which OHIM does not in respect of Community trademarks, a Swedish trademark registration offers a more reliable protection than a Community trademark. OHIM is the European Union agency responsible for registering trademarks and designs that are valid in all 27 countries of the EU.