Trade Marks Act, 1996 (Community Trade Mark) Regulations, 2000

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Year: 2000
• Citation: IR SI 229/2000

I, TOM KITT, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 57 , 66 , 81 and 82 of the Trade Marks Act, 1996 (No. 6 of 1996) (as adapted by the Enterprise and Employment (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 305 of 1997 ), and the Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) (No. 2) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 330 of 1997 )), and, in so far as the following regulations are made under the said section 82, with the sanction of the Minister for Finance, and a resolution approving a draft of these regulations having been passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas in accordance with section 3(3) of the said Act, hereby make the following regulations:
	Citation and Commencement.	1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Trade Marks Act, 1996 (Community Trade Mark) Regulations, 2000.
(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 20th day of July 2000.
	Interpretation.	2. (1) In these Regulations—
“Act of 1996” means the Trade Marks Act, 1996 (No. 6 of 1996), and a reference to a section is a reference to a section of that Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended;
“Community Trade Mark Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 40/94 of 20 December 1993 on the Community trade mark(1) ;
“Community Trade Mark Rules” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2868/95 of 13 December 1995 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No. 40/94 on the Community trade mark(2) .
“Rules” means the Trade Marks Rules, 1996 ( S.I. No. 199 of 1996 ), and a reference to a rule shall be construed as a reference to a rule of those Rules unless the context otherwise requires.
(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Rules has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Rules.
(3) In these Regulations a reference to a Regulation, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to a Regulation, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.
	Notification to the Controller of seniority.	3. Where the Controller receives a notification under Rule 28(3) of the Community Trade Mark Rules pursuant to Article 34 or 35 of the Community Trade Mark Regulation of a seniority claim based on an earlier registered trade mark, the Controller shall note the said seniority claim and such claim is hereby prescribed as a matter to be entered in the register.
	Determination a posteriori of invalidity and liability to revocation.	4. (1) Where the proprietor of a Community trade mark claims the seniority of a registered trade mark which has been removed from the register under section 48 or has been surrendered under section 50 after registration of the Community trade mark, application may be made to the Controller or to the Court by any person for a declaration that, if the registered trade mark had not been so removed or surrendered, it would have been liable to be revoked pursuant to section 51 or deemed invalid pursuant to section 52, and the Controller or the Court may grant such a declaration accordingly.
(2) Where a declaration is made pursuant to paragraph (1) the registered trade mark shall be deemed to have been revoked pursuant to section 51 or invalidated pursuant to section 52, as the case may be, and the Controller shall notify the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market of any such declaration made.
(3) Where a registered trade mark has been surrendered only in respect of some of the goods and services for which it is registered, paragraph (1) shall apply only in relation to such goods and services.
(4) The provisions of section 51 or, as the case may be, section 52, and sections 76, 78 and 79 shall apply, with necessary modifications, in relation to an application to which paragraph (1) applies.
	Privilege for communication with professional representatives.	5. A professional representative, within the meaning of Article 89 of the Community Trade Mark Regulation, whose name appears on the list maintained pursuant to that Article shall be deemed, for the purpose of a conversion application, to be a registered agent for the purposes of section 91.
	Power of seizure and search concerning infringements of Community trade mark.	6. For the purposes of section 25—
(a) the reference in that section to a registered trade mark shall be construed as including a reference to a Community trade mark, and
(b) section 21(2) (definition of infringing goods) shall apply as if references to a registered trade mark in that section included a reference to a Community trade mark.
	Designation of Community trade mark courts.	7. For the purposes of the Community Trade Mark Regulation—
(a) the High Court is hereby designated as a Community trade mark court of first instance, and
(b) the Supreme Court is hereby designated as a Community trade mark court of second instance.
	Conversion applications.	8. (1) Where the Controller decides that a request for conversion of a Community trade mark application or of a Community trade mark into a national trade mark...