OHIM AND THE SPANISH QUESTION

The Community trade mark (CTM) system is a game that can be played in many different ways. The IPKat has long suspected that anyone who looks at OHIM Board of Appeal decisions in opposition proceedings will discover a curious imbalance of national interests. Now he knows that he is right.  Earlier this month he persuaded a student to review no fewer than 400 decisions of the Boards of Appeal between 26 May and 30 June 2004.  Of the 400 opposition appeals reviewed, 124 of them were filed by German opponents, counting for 31% of the total. A further 109 (that's more than 27%) came from Spanish opponents. Major trade mark owning countries such as the United States (35, or 8.75%), France (32, or 8%) and the UK (17, or 4%) appear quite inactive in comparison.

The IPKat wonders why this imbalance should exist, particular with regard to the frequency with which CTM oppositions are filed by the Spanish, a smaller economy than Germany. Various explanations exist. For example:

* The Spanish are far more alert to threats to their earlier rights;
* The Spanish own far more prior rights than other nationalities and therefore have more to protect;
* The Spanish have made a business out of filing marks they have no genuine entitlement to, for their nuisance value in CTM oppositions in which they get "bought out" by applicants anxious for European coverage;
* The Spanish profession file oppositions without having taken instructions from the clients and then seek to persuade their clients to accept what they've done.

What, the IPKat asks, do you think? What is indeed the true explanation of this unusual imbalance?

File your Spanish trade mark here
Spanish brands here, here and --  if you can take the heat -- here