JUAN CARLOS I
KING OF SPAIN

To all who present it and understand it.

Sabed: That the General Courts have approved and I come to sanction the following Law.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

I

This Law aims at the legal regime of distinctive signs, a legal category that configures one of the great fields of industrial property.

Legislation on this type of property is the exclusive competence of the State, in accordance with Article 149.1.9. of the Constitution.

The reasons that justify the need to reform the Law of Marks, giving rise to a new Law, obey three orders of motives. The first, to comply with the judgment of the Constitutional Court 103/1999, of June 3, that delimits the competences that in matter of industrial property correspond to the Autonomous Communities and the State. The second, to incorporate into our law of trade marks the provisions of Community and international character to which the Spanish State is obliged or has been committed. The third reason, finally, is due to the desirability of introducing in our legal order certain norms of a substantive and procedural character that are advised by the experience obtained under the validity of the previous Law, the practices followed by other legislations in our environment and the need to adapt our trademark registration system to the requirements of the new Information Society.

II

With regard to the grounds of constitutional character, the Law faithfully reflects the jurisprudential criteria for the delimitation of competences, attributing these to the autonomic or state bodies in accordance with the provisions of the the judgment of the Constitutional Court. The connection points are fixed in a broad and flexible way, in order to provide a correct coverage to the needs of the users of the registration system and to provide them with adequate access to this special property that constitutes the protection of the signs. flags.

III

In order to the commitments acquired by the Spanish State, this Law gives fulfillment to them, responding to the high levels of harmonization imposed within the European and International Community.

Community harmonization in the field of trade marks has been mainly operated by the First Council Directive 89 /104/EEC of 21 December 1988 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the members in the field of trade marks. Its provisions, which have already been incorporated by Law 32/1988, of Marks, have also been the subject of full transposition into this Law. Of the rules that are transposed, the following should be highlighted:

new concept of trade mark, reformulation of the grounds for refusal and invalidity of registration, extension to the Community area of exhaustion of trade mark law, incorporation of the figure of the prescription for tolerance and strengthening the obligation to use the trade mark and the penalties for its non-compliance.

Within Community trade mark law, a special mention is also made of Council Regulation (EC) No 40/94 of 20 December 1993 on the Community trade mark, establishing a distinctive sign, the effects of which are extend to the entire territory of the Community. While it is true that this Regulation does not impose provisions on the approximation of national trade marks to the Community-except for the obligation to regulate the conversion of a Community trade mark to a national trade mark-it is not Less than the indicated approximation is desirable, since it allows to prevent two titles that produce identical effects in Spain from being subject to totally different regulations. In this respect many of the rules of this Law are directly applicable to that Regulation.

The law now adopted also contains the necessary rules to adapt our law to the harmonization efforts made within the International Community. In this way, the rules allowing the application in Spain of the Protocol concerning the Madrid Agreement concerning the International Registration of Marks of 27 June 1989; the Agreement on the Aspects of the Rights of Property are incorporated in Spain. Trade-Related Intellectual (TRIPS Agreement), which forms an integral part of the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO) of 15 April 1994, as well as the Treaty on the Law of Trade Marks and its Rules of Procedure, of 27 October 1994.

Beginning with the Protocol, its incorporation into Spanish law has demanded a reform of the Title that is dedicated to international trade marks in the Law. Thus, the possibility is allowed for the application to be founded not only in the national trade mark register, but in its mere application. At the same time, the opportunity to fill certain gaps is being used, among which is the absence of legal cover for the national examination of an international application. As with the Community trade mark, the possibility of transformation into a national trade mark is also envisaged here.

Minor relevance presents the incorporation of the guidelines contained in the TRIPS. The extraordinary effect this Agreement has had on the global regulation of intellectual property-including trademarks-is unquestionable, in adapting it to the latest demands of international trade. However, the rules set out in the above Agreement are already partially covered by Law 32/1988, since it is directly inspired by the then draft of the First Community Harmonisation Directive which, in turn, is intended to decisively influenced the TRIPS. Therefore, the adequacy of this Agreement has only specified the following specific measures: the extension of the legitimization to be able to request the registration of a mark in Spain to the nationals of the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO); the incorporation of the concept of reasons for the lack of use of the trade mark; the enhanced protection of registered trademarks; and, finally, the introduction of a new absolute prohibition of registration in relation to false geographical indications of wines and spirits, even if they do not mislead.

The response of the Trademark Law to the requirements contained in the international instruments is completed with the adaptation to the Treaty on the Law of Marks, adopted in the framework of the World Property Organization Intellectual. This is a treaty on formalities and forms of type which, by means of a world-wide unification of the solemnities to be followed in the application of a mark and in the incidents that may occur during its existence, aims to simplify and make it cheaper to register trademarks in the world.

Among the modifications to which the reception of this Treaty has given rise, the implementation of the multiclass brand (already applicable to international brands entering the Spanish national phase) is highlighted; the the creation of fees by class; the abolition of the duty to declare the use of the mark; the admission of the division of the application or registration of the mark; the abolition of the requirement of public qualification as a requirement of registration of the mark; change of ownership of a trade mark, although the traditional system is maintained with optional character; and the last, the disappearance of the five-year rates. All these modifications are incorporated into the new Law, although the last two were already introduced in our order (Law 14/1999, of May 4, of Public Fees and Prices for services provided by the Nuclear Security Council), as The Treaty of Rome entered into force for Spain on 17 March 1999 and did not allow itself to delay its introduction, in contrast to the other amendments, which are now being implemented, since they could be postponed. until 1 August 2002 in the instrument of deposit of the Instrument of Ratification by means of appropriate statement.

IV

Not all of the novelties introduced by this Law are due to the need to harmonize our law with the Community and International Ordinance.

There are a considerable number of articles in which legislative options are collected, the common denominator of which is to provide the brand with an agile and logical procedure, introducing new ones that advise the experience of ten years of application of the Law of Marks and those others which, having revealed their usefulness in States of our legal environment, are worthy of being welcomed by our Law. The Law tries to respond to the growing demand for agility and efficiency that our companies demand in the new Information Society. All without loss of the levels of legal certainty that the acquisition of these rights requires.

The new Law will temper the formal automatism of the birth of the trademark right, based on the constitutive character of the registration, with the establishment of the principle of good faith registration, by providing for, as an autonomous cause, nullity absolute registration of a trade mark, where the application on which the registration was based would have been lodged in bad faith. In addition to this angular principle, the Law contains other classical principles of a registry such as those of advertising, opposition, priority and the following, which govern and rationalize how many registered transactions are carried out in respect of the trademark or of your request.

The registration procedure is reformed, removing from the examination to be carried out by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) referring to the related prohibitions, leaving this ex officio examination reserved only for the absolute bans. The related prohibitions shall be examined only by the OEPM when a third party legitimises the corresponding opposition to the trademark application submitted to registration, without prejudice to the fact that the OEPM communicates, for information purposes, the existence of of the application for registration to those who, in a computer search of the above, could enjoy a better right. The aim of this new process is threefold: to align with the majority systems in our European environment and, in particular, with the Community trade mark system; to avoid the use of artificial conflict management. When the holder has no interest in opposing the new application and finally, winning in speed and efficiency. The system established is, on the other hand, more in line with the nature and meaning of the prohibitions of registration and with the interests to be protected, predominantly public or general in the case of absolute and private prohibitions. in the case of the relative prohibitions, which are thus qualified precisely because they protect private rights and, consequently, their defence must not be imposed but left to the own parties, who enjoy in the present Law of all the guarantees of the rule of law through the procedure of opposition or the exercise of the nullity to protect their legitimate interests and rights. Since the system is being implemented more widely at European level and followed by the Community trade mark, there is no reason to justify the fact that national trade marks in Spain are more rigorous than the Community trade mark. would only harm the users of the Spanish system, for the benefit of users of the Community system who will be able to obtain Community trade marks-with the same effects in Spain as a national trade mark-without ex officio examination of the prohibitions relative.

As part of the regulation of the procedure, other important innovations are introduced as the figure of the "restitutio in integrum", which has already incorporated the Regulation on the Community Mark, in order to avoid that for the non-observance of a period of time is the loss of a right, if the data subject proves to have acted with due diligence. The suspension of the concession procedure is also provided for when the opposition is based on a mere application for registration or when a claim for annulment, revocation or revocation against the opposing mark has been brought, as well as in the case of the assumption of the submission of a split request or at the joint request of all interested parties.

The regulatory body that is now approved also provides for the possibility of submitting to arbitration the administrative acts that would have put an end to the registration procedure and regulates the modes of notification and consultation. (a) the procedure for recording the distinguishing signs to the requirements of the Information Society, providing for the possibility of notification by electronic mail or of consultation of files; by telematic routes. In this area of adaptation to the Information Society, the provisions contained in the Law on the future use of electronic or telematic means for the submission of applications and other documents deserve to be highlighted.

Special mention must be made of the strengthening of the protection of the notorious and renowned marks. For the first time in our order, a legal definition of the concept of a well-known and renowned brand is established, setting the scope of its protection. The well-known mark is that known by the relevant sector of the public to which its products or services are intended and, if it is registered, is protected above the principle of speciality according to its degree of notoriety and, if it is not, it is empowered to not only to exercise the corresponding action of nullity, as to date, but also to present opposition to the registration in the administrative route. When the brand is known to the general public, it is considered to be renamed and the scope of its protection extends to any product or service genre.

The same protection is granted to the well-known or renamed registered business name.

As to the content and scope of the trademark right, the exclusive position of the trademark holder is strengthened; by extending the scope of the "ius ban" to the means of identification of the product or service, where the the possibility of such means being used to carry out prohibited acts; by also extending that "ius ban" on the use of the mark in telematic communication networks; by introducing, in certain cases, the objective responsibility of the the usurper of the mark, without being subjected to the concurrency of fault or negligence; when considering compensable the damage to the brand's reputation or reputation; and, finally, to enable the holder to prevent the reproduction of its mark in dictionaries, if this is detrimental to its distinctive character.

The technical shortcoming of the previous legislation is exceeded, establishing the widest scope of the content of the law of the notory and renowned trademarks and, in respect of the actions that the holder can exercise, incorporates that of claiming the destruction of the illicitly marked goods.

Formally the figures of the derived brand and the extension of brand, in harmony with the majority systems of our community environment, disappear, because the protection that these modalities granted is achieved more simple and with the same scope by the registration of a new trade mark, in which maintaining the main mark, new distinctive elements of an accessory character are incorporated, for the case of the derived marks, or by the application of the new products or services to which the registered trade mark is to be extended, in the case of enlargement mark.

The nullity and expiration of the mark are completed and systematized. With regard to the expiry of the law, the law introduces the general principle that the expired marks will cease to have legal effects from the moment when the facts or omissions that gave rise to the expiry date occurred. In the case of revocation for lack of renewal, guarantees are introduced to the benefit of those who have exercised a claim or are registered holders of an embargo or a mortgage right on the mark.

The regulation of the collective and guarantee marks is reordered, seeking that the differences between these two modalities of marks appear more clearly defined, eliminating the confusion that has always involved the same.

The new legal text incorporates the right of any legal person, who would not have registered as a trade name their name or social reason, to formulate the appropriate opposition to the registration of a trademark or trade name subsequently requested or to claim before the courts the cancellation of the same if they have already been registered, when such distinctive signs apply to products, services or activities identical or similar to those for which it is used such a name or a social reason, provided that the priority use of the name is proven throughout the territory and there is a certain risk of confusion in the public. Thus the problem of the equalization of treatment of foreigners who can invoke Article 8 of the Paris Convention for the protection of industrial property of 20 March 1883 or the principle of reciprocity, to which the Law The same protection is waived.

Finally, the regulation of the trade name, approximating this distinctive sign to the marks, establishes the principle of its free cession and the application of the International Classification of Products or Services to the registration of these signs.

The Law, aligning with the systems of our political and economic environment, suppresses the registration character of the establishment signs, leaving the protection of this mode of industrial property to the common norms of unfair competition. Moreover, the protection afforded by the establishment signs may be enforced through the registration of a trade mark or trade name, being able to live in different territorial areas if there is no third-party opposition, such as consequence of the new procedure, in which the ex officio examination of the previous proceedings is abolished.

The Law sets out in detail in its transitional provisions the transit to this new mode of protection of the establishment signs registered during the validity of previous legislations.

At last, the fees payable for services provided under the Trademark Law are modified, adapting them to the international and community framework and deleting some of the existing ones to simplify this aspect of the relationship between the interested parties and the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.

TITLE I

General provisions

Article 1. Scope of application.

1. For the protection of distinctive signs, the following industrial property rights shall be granted in accordance with this Law:

a) Brands.

b) The business names.

2. The application, concession and other legal acts or businesses affecting the rights referred to in the previous paragraph shall be entered in the Register of Marks as provided for in this Law and in its Rules of Procedure.

3. The Registration of Marks shall have a unique character throughout the national territory and shall be carried out by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, without prejudice to the powers of the Office in respect of the enforcement of industrial property legislation. correspond to the

Autonomous Communities, as developed in this Act.

Article 2. Acquisition of the right.

1. The right of ownership over the trade mark and trade name is acquired by registration validly effected in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

2. Where the registration of a trade mark has been applied for with fraud of the rights of a third party or in violation of a legal or contractual obligation, the injured person may claim to the courts the property of the mark, if he exercises the (a) a timely claim for action prior to the date of registration or within a period of five years from the date of publication of the registration or from the time the registered trademark has begun to be used in accordance with the provisions of the Article 39. Filed the claim, the Tribunal shall notify the filing of the same to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office for its entry in the Register of Marks and shall, if necessary, decree the suspension of the procedure of registration of the mark.

3. If, as a result of the judgment in which the action claims, a change in the ownership of the trade mark occurs, the licences and other rights of third parties shall be extinguished by the registration of the new holder in the Register of Marks, without prejudice to the right to which you are entitled to complain.

Article 3. Legitimization.

1. Natural or legal persons of Spanish nationality and natural persons or foreign legal persons who habitually reside or have an effective industrial or commercial establishment may obtain the registration of trademarks or trade names. and serious in Spanish territory or which enjoy the benefits of the Convention of the Union of Paris for the Protection of Industrial Property of 20 March 1883, in accordance with the provisions of the Act in force in Spain of this Convention, called hereinafter "the Paris Convention", as well as the nationals of the members of the Organization World Trade.

2. They may also obtain the registration of trademarks or trade names, in accordance with the provisions of this Law, of foreign natural or legal persons not covered by the foregoing paragraph, provided that the law of the State of which they are national or legal persons of Spanish nationality to register such signs.

3. The persons referred to in paragraph 1 may invoke the application for the benefit of the provisions of the Paris Convention and those of any other international treaty ratified by Spain, as soon as they are directly applicable, which is more favourable to them in respect of the provisions of this Law.

TITLE II

Brand Concept and Record Bans

CHAPTER I

Brand Concept

Article 4. Brand concept.

1. Any sign capable of graphic representation that serves to distinguish the products or services of a company from those of others on the market.

2. Such signs may, in particular, be:

a) Words or combinations of words, including words that serve to identify people.

b) Images, figures, symbols, and drawings.

c) The letters, figures, and combinations.

d) Three-dimensional shapes including wrappers, packaging, and the shape of the product or its presentation.

e) The sonorous.

f) Any combination of the signs that are mentioned in the preceding paragraphs.

CHAPTER II

Absolute Bans

Article 5. Absolute bans.

1. The following signs may not be registered as marks:

(a) Those who cannot constitute a mark for non-compliance with Article 4.1 of this Law.

b) Those that do not have a flag character.

(c) Those consisting exclusively of signs or indications which may serve in trade to designate the species, the quality, quantity, destination, value, geographical origin, time of production of the product or the service delivery or other product or service characteristics.

(d) Those consisting exclusively of signs or indications that have become customary to designate products or services in the common language or in the loyal and constant customs of trade.

(e) Those made exclusively by the form imposed by the nature of the product itself or by the form of the product necessary to obtain a technical result, or by the form that gives a substantial value to the product.

f) Those that are contrary to the Law, to public order or to good manners.

g) Those that can mislead the public, for example on the nature, quality or geographical origin of the product or service.

(h) Those applying to identify wines or spirits contain or consist of indications of geographical origin identifying wines or spirits which do not have that origin, even where the true origin of the product or use the geographical indication translated or accompanied by expressions such as "class", "type", "style", "imitation" or other analogous.

i) Those who reproduce or imitate the shield, the flag, the decorations and other emblems of Spain, their Autonomous Communities, their municipalities, provinces or other local entities, unless they mediate due authorization.

(j) Those who have not been authorised by the competent authorities and must be refused under Article 6b of the Paris Convention.

k) Those which include badges, emblems or shields other than those referred to in Article 6b of the Paris Convention and which are in the public interest, unless their registration is authorised by the competent authority.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 (b), (c) and (d) shall not apply where the mark has acquired, for the products or services for which the

record, a distinctive character as a result of the use that would have been made of it.

3. It may be registered as a mark of the combination of several signs referred to in points (b), (c) and (d) of paragraph 1, provided that such combination has the distinctiveness required by Article 4 (1) of this Law.

CHAPTER III

Relative Bans

Article 6. Earlier marks.

1. Signs may not be registered as marks:

a) That are identical to an earlier mark that designates identical products or services.

b) That, because they are identical or similar to a previous trade mark and are identical or similar to the products or services they designate, there is a risk of confusion in the public; the risk of confusion includes the risk of association with the previous mark.

2. For earlier marks the effects of paragraph 1 shall be understood:

(a) Trademarks whose application for registration has a date of filing or priority prior to that of the application under examination, and belonging to the following categories: (i) Spanish trade marks; (ii) marks which have been the subject of an international registration which has effects in Spain; (iii) Community trade marks.

(b) The registered Community trade marks which, in accordance with their Regulation, validly claim the seniority of one of the marks referred to in points (i) and (ii) of point (a), even if the latter mark has been the subject of waiver or has been extinguished.

c) The trademark applications referred to in points (a) and (b), provided that they are finally registered.

(d) Non-registered marks which at the date of filing or priority of the application for the mark under examination are "notoriously known" in Spain within the meaning of Article 6a of the Paris Convention.

Article 7. Previous business names.

1. Signs may not be registered as marks:

a) That are identical to a previous trade name that designates activities identical to the products or services for which the brand is requested.

b) That because they are identical or similar to a previous trade name and because they are identical or similar to the activities that they designate for the products or services for which the trademark is requested, there is a risk of confusion in the public ; the risk of confusion includes the risk of association with the previous trade name.

2. For the purposes of this Article, the following trade names shall be understood:

(a) Commercial names registered in Spain whose application for registration has a date of filing or priority prior to that of the application under review.

b) Requests for the trade names referred to in the preceding letter, provided that they are finally registered.

Article 8. Registered trademarks and registered trademarks and registered trademarks.

1. You may not register as a sign that is identical or similar to a previous trade mark or name even if your registration is requested for products or services that are not similar to those protected by such earlier signs when, for The use of that mark may indicate a connection between the goods or services covered by the mark and the holder of those signs or, in general, where such use, carried out without fair cause, may involve a misuse or impairment of the distinctive character or the reputation or reputation of such persons previous signs.

2. For the purposes of this Law, it shall be understood by trademark or commercial name that, by its volume of sales, duration, intensity or geographical scope of its use, valuation or prestige achieved on the market or for any other cause, be generally known to the relevant sector of the public to which the goods, services or activities which distinguish such trade mark or trade name are intended. The protection provided for in paragraph 1, where the requirements laid down therein are met, shall reach products, services or activities of a more different nature, the higher the degree of knowledge of the trade mark or name. notices in the relevant sector of the public or in other related sectors.

3. Where the trade mark or name is known to the general public, the trade mark or name shall be deemed to be renamed and the scope of the protection shall be extended to any product, service or activity.

4. For the purposes of paragraph 1 by trade mark or trade name, the signs referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of Article 6.2 and in Article 7.2 respectively shall be read.

Article 9. Other rights above.

1. Without due authorisation, they may not register as trademarks:

a) The civil name or image that identifies a person other than the applicant for the brand.

(b) The name, surname, pseudonym or any other sign which for the generality of the public identifies a person other than the applicant.

(c) Signs that reproduce, imitate or transform creations protected by copyright or other industrial property rights other than those referred to in Articles 6 and 7.

(d) The trade name, name or social name of a legal person who, before the date of filing or priority of the mark applied for, identifies in the economic traffic a person other than the applicant, yes, be identical or similar to these signs and because they are identical or similar to their scope, there is a risk of confusion in the public. For these purposes, the holder of these signs must prove the notorious use or knowledge of such signs in the whole of the national territory. In accordance with these conditions, foreign nationals who under Article 3 of this Law may invoke Article 8 of the Paris Convention or the principle of reciprocity shall enjoy the same protection, provided that they prove the use or knowledge known in Spain for its unregistered business name.

2. The name, surname, pseudonym or any other sign identifying the registrant shall not be registered as a trade mark if they incur any of the registration prohibitions contained in this Title.

Article 10. Marks of agents or representatives.

1. Unless it justifies its action, the agent or representative of a third party who is the holder of an

mark on another member of the Paris Convention or the World Trade Organization may not register this mark to your name without the consent of that holder.

2. The injured owner shall have the right to object to the registration of the trade mark or to make against it the corresponding actions of nullity, vindicatoria or caesation, as provided for in this Law and in Article 6f of the Convention of Paris. In particular, the estimates contained in Article 2 (2) and (3) shall apply to the action.

TITLE III

Registration Request and Procedure

CHAPTER I

Log Request

Article 11. Submission of the application.

1. The application for trademark registration shall be lodged with the competent authority of the Autonomous Community where the applicant has his registered office or a serious and effective industrial or commercial establishment.

2. Applicants domiciled in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla will submit the application at the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.

3. Applicants not domiciled in Spain shall submit the application to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.

4. The application may also be submitted to the competent authority of the Autonomous Community where the representative of the applicant has his legal address or a serious and effective branch.

5. Applications may also be submitted to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office if the applicant or his representative requests it through a serious and effective commercial or industrial establishment which does not have a territorial character.

6. The body responsible for receiving the application shall record, at the time of its receipt, the number of the application and the day, time and minute of its submission, in the manner that it is determined to be determined.

7. The competent authority of the Autonomous Community receiving the application shall forward to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office within five days of its receipt, the data of the application in the form and content of the application. rules are determined.

8. The application for registration of a trade mark may also be lodged in the places provided for in Article 38.4 of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 on the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and the Common Administrative Procedure, addressed to the a body which, in accordance with the above paragraphs, is competent to receive the application.

9. Both the application and the other documents to be submitted to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office must be in Spanish. In the Autonomous Communities where there is also another official language, such documents, in addition to in Spanish, may be written in that language.

Article 12. Requirements for the request.

1. The trademark registration application must contain at least:

a) An instance by which the mark record is requested.

b) The identification of the requester.

c) The reproduction of the mark.

d) The list of the products or services for which the record is requested.

2. The application shall give rise to the payment of a fee, the amount of which shall be determined by the number of classes of goods or services of the international nomenclator established by the Nice Agreement of 15 June 1957.

3. The trade mark application shall comply with the other requirements to be laid down in regulation.

Article 13. Date of submission of the request.

1. The date of submission of the application shall be the date on which the competent body, as provided for in Article 11, receives the documents containing the elements laid down in Article 12 (1

.

2. The date of submission of applications lodged at a Post Office shall be the date on which the office receives the documents containing the elements referred to in Article 12 (1), provided that they are submitted in the open, by registered mail and with acknowledgement of receipt, addressed to the body competent to receive the application. The Post Office shall record the day, hour and minute of its presentation.

3. If any of the administrative bodies or units referred to in the preceding paragraphs have not entered, at the time of receipt of the request, the time of their submission shall be assigned to him the last hour of the day. If the minute has not been entered, the last minute of the hour shall be assigned. If no time or minute has been recorded, the last hour and minute of the day will be allocated.

Article 14. Right of Unionist priority.

1. Those who have regularly submitted a request for registration of a trade mark in one of the Member States of the Paris Convention or in any member of the World Trade Organisation or their successors shall enjoy, for the presentation in Spain of an application for registration of the same mark, of the right of priority set out in Article 4 of the Paris Convention.

2. A first application for protection of the same mark in a State or an international organisation not mentioned in the previous paragraph, which recognises applications for registration of the same mark, shall have the same right of priority. trade marks presented in Spain a right of priority under conditions and having equivalent effect to those provided for in the Paris Convention.

3. The applicant who wishes to claim the priority of an earlier application must submit a declaration of priority and a copy certified by the office of origin of the application in the form and time-limits to be laid down. accompanied by its translation into Spanish, when that application is written in another language. Priority claim involves payment of the corresponding fee.

Article 15. Priority of exposure.

1. The applicant for a trade mark which he has designated with it products or services in an official or officially recognised exhibition shall enjoy the right of priority of the date of the first submission of the

products or services with the mark applied for in the exhibition, provided that the application for registration of the trademark is filed within six months of that date.

2. The applicant who wishes to claim the priority referred to in paragraph 1 shall, on the terms to be determined by regulation, justify the fact that the goods or services were presented in the exhibition with the mark applied for and on the date invoked. Priority claim involves payment of the corresponding fee.

CHAPTER II

Log Procedure

Article 16. Examination of admissibility and form.

1. The body responsible for receiving the application, as provided for in Article 11, shall examine:

a) If the trademark application meets the requirements for a filing date to be granted in accordance with Article 13.

b) If the request rate was satisfied.

(c) If the trademark application meets the other formal requirements laid down by law.

d) If the applicant is entitled to apply for a trademark, pursuant to Article 3 of this Law.

2. If the examination proves that the application has any irregularity or defect, the suspension of the processing of the file shall be suspended and the applicant shall be granted the time limit which it is determined to regulate for the purposes of subsane or Case, the relevant allegations.

3. If the irregularity is in breach of the requirements necessary to obtain a filing date, the day on which this irregularity is remedied shall be granted.

4. If the irregularity consisted of the failure to pay the application fee and the time limit for the payment of the fee has not been paid in its entirety, the processing will continue with respect to those classes that are fully paid, according to the the order of the request.

5. After the period laid down in paragraph 2 without the person concerned having replied, the competent authority shall decide to withdraw the application. It shall be carried out in the same way when, in the opinion of the competent body, irregularities have not been properly remedied.

Article 17. Referral of the request.

1. The competent authority of the Autonomous Community shall forward to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, in any case, applications which have passed the examination of form or which have remedied the defects imputed, with any indication, where appropriate, of any defects or of the date of submission, if it has been rectified in accordance with Article 16 (3).

2. Applications that would have been waived, will be notified to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office once the resolution is firm, with an indication of their date of adoption. If the decision has been challenged, this shall also be notified.

Article 18. Publication of the request.

1. Received the application for a trademark, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office will proceed to its publication in the Official Journal of Industrial Property, except that it is contrary to the public order or the good customs according to the provisions of the Article 5.1, point (f). In this case, the person concerned shall be notified of the repair, so that, within the time limit laid down by law, the appropriate claims are to be made. The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office will resolve the continuation of the processing or the refusal of the application.

2. If the application has any defect not perceived in previous procedures that will make it impossible to publish, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office will communicate the defect to the person concerned for its remedy, proceeding in accordance with the Article 16.

3. The publication of a trademark application, as referred to in paragraph 1, shall include:

a) The name and address of the requester.

b) The name and address of the representative, if any.

c) The case number, presentation date, and, if any, claimed priority.

(d) The reproduction of the sign requested as a mark and, where appropriate, a declaration in the terms of the sign provided for in Article 21 (2).

e) The list of products or services, with indication of the class of the International Nomenclator.

4. Likewise, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office shall, in the manner in which it is regulated, communicate the publication of the application referred to in paragraph 1, for information purposes only, to the holders of the preceding signs. registered or requested to have been detected as a result of a computer search carried out by that Office in accordance with its technical and material availabilities, and that pursuant to Articles 6 and 7 may formulate opposition to the registration of the new application.

Article 19. Third-party oppositions and observations.

1. Once the trademark application is published, any person deemed to be harmed may object to the registration of the mark, invoking the prohibitions provided for in Title II.

2. The opposition shall be filed with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office in a reasoned and duly documented manner in the form and time limit which it shall regulate, and shall be submitted only if the fee is paid within that period. corresponding.

3. The bodies of public administrations and associations and organisations at national or regional level which, according to their statutes, are intended to protect the consumer, may direct the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office in the (a) the time limit laid down in the preceding paragraph, written observations, pointing to the prohibitions in Article 5, by virtue of which the registration of the trade mark would be refused on its own initiative. Such bodies and associations shall not acquire the quality of the parties to the proceedings, but their observations shall be notified to the applicant for the mark and shall be resolved in accordance with Article 22.

Article 20. Background examination.

1. The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office shall also examine ex officio whether the application for a trade mark incurs any of the prohibitions referred to in Articles 5 and 9.1 (b). If, when carrying out this examination, the Office shall observe a defect in the application, it shall notify the applicant in accordance with Article 21.1.

2. If, within the prescribed period, no opposition or observations from third parties have been made and the examination carried out by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office has resulted in the application for a trade mark not being subject to the prohibitions laid down in Articles 5 and 9.1, point (b), the mark shall be registered. In this case, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, in the form that it regulates, will publish an announcement of the registration of the trademark in the Official Gazette of the Industrial Property and issue the title of registration of the trademark.

Article 21. Suspension of the request.

1. Where the third party or the examination carried out by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office have submitted objections or observations, the application shall, for all or part of the products or services requested, be incurred in any of the the prohibitions or defects referred to in Article 20 (1), the suspension of the file shall be declared and the applicant shall be notified of the objections or observations made and the objections made to him or her ex officio so that, within the period prescribed be determined, present your allegations.

2. In the reply to the suspense, the applicant may withdraw, limit, amend or divide the application in accordance with Articles 23 and 24. If the reason for the suspenseful is to be found that the mark applied for contains elements which are not covered by the prohibitions in Article 5.1 (b), (c) or (d), the applicant may make a declaration excluding those elements of the protection. requested.

Article 22. Resolution of the request.

1. After the time limit set for the reply to the suspense, whether or not the applicant has replied, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office shall agree to grant or refuse the registration of the mark by specifying, succinctly, in the latter case, the reasons and rights that cause the same.

2. If the cause of refusal of registration of the trade mark only exists for part of the goods or services, the refusal of registration shall be limited to the goods or services concerned.

3. The decision to refuse registration of the trade mark shall be published in the Official Journal of the Industrial Property in the form to be determined by regulation.

4. Granted the registration of the trademark, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, in the form that is established regulatively, will proceed to its publication in the Official Gazette of the Industrial Property and to issue the title of registration of the mark.

CHAPTER III

General rules on the procedure

Article 23. Withdrawal, limitation and modification of the request.

1. The applicant may at any time withdraw his or her trademark application or limit the list of the products or services contained therein.

2. The application for a trade mark may only be amended, at the request of the applicant, to rectify its name and address, the faults of expression or of transcription or manifest errors, provided that such rectification does not substantially affect the trade mark Do not extend or change the list of products or services. Those elements that do not significantly alter the distinctive character of the mark in the way it was requested may also be removed from the flag.

3. The limitation and modification of the application shall result in the payment of the corresponding fee.

Article 24. Division of the mark application or registration.

1. The applicant or proprietor of a trade mark comprising several products or services may divide the application or registration of the trade mark into two or more divisional applications or registers, distributing the products or services listed in the application or initial registration.

2. The division of the application or registration of the trade mark may only be made during the registration or appeal proceedings and shall be accepted only if, with such division, the suspense, the opposition or the appeal are limited to one of the applications or divisional records. The division of the application or registration may also be made when a partial transmission of the application or registration is requested.

3. Divisional applications or records shall retain the date of submission of the initial application or registration and the benefit of the right of priority, if any.

4. The division shall be subject to what is to be regulated and shall give rise to the payment of the corresponding fee.

Article 25. Reestablishing rights.

1. The applicant or the proprietor of a trade mark or any other party to proceedings before the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office which, having demonstrated all the due diligence required by the circumstances, could not have complied with a deadline with in respect of the said Office, it shall, upon request, be restored to its rights if the impossibility of the loss of a right, under the provisions of this Law or of its Rules of Procedure, has been the direct consequence of the impossibility. Where the time limit for an appeal has been given, it shall have the effect of admission to proceedings, except as provided for in paragraph 5

2. The application shall be submitted in writing on the basis of the cessation of the impediment, in the form and time limit which it shall regulate. The non-compliance must be completed within that period. The application shall be admissible only within one year of the expiry of the period not observed. If the application for renewal is no longer submitted, the additional period of six months referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 32 (3) shall be deducted from the one-year period.

3. The request shall be reasoned, indicating the facts and the justifications to be relied on in support of the request.

Only presented when the rate of rights reset has been paid.

4. It shall be competent to resolve the application by the body which is responsible for deciding on the act which has not been complied with.

5. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to the time limits referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, Article 14 (1) and (2), Article 15 (1) and Article 19 (2). Nor shall these provisions be applicable in respect of the time limit for an appeal against a declaration of rights.

6. Where the applicant or the proprietor of a trade mark is restored to his rights, the applicant may not claim his rights against a third party who, in good faith, has marketed products or provided services.

under an identical or mark-like sign during the period between the loss of the right to the application or the mark and the publication of the mention of the re-establishment of that right.

7. The right to the application or the trade mark shall not be restored where, in the period between the loss of the application and the filing of the application for the restoration of a third party, a sign has been applied for or registered in good faith. identical or similar.

8. The third party which may be subject to the provisions of paragraphs 6 and 7 may be brought against the decision which restores its rights to the applicant.

Article 26. Suspension of processing procedures.

The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office may suspend the processing procedure:

(a) When the opposition is founded on an earlier application for registration, until such time as a resolution on such an application is placed to end the administrative route.

(b) At the request of the applicant who has brought an action of nullity, revocation or claim of the former opponent, until a final judgment is given, and without prejudice to the fact that it is judicially decreed.

c) When a division request is filed, for the precise time for resolution of the split request.

d) At the joint request of all stakeholders, without the suspension in this case exceeding six months.

Article 27. Review of acts on the administrative path.

1. The acts and resolutions issued by the organs of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office shall be subject to the provisions of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 on the Legal Regime of the General Administration and the Common Administrative Procedure.

2. The interposition of an appeal shall give rise to the payment of the appeal fee. The refund of the fee shall not be granted unless the appeal is wholly considered to be the subject of legal reasons which, unduly assessed in the judgment, are attributable to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office. The refund of the fee shall be requested when the appeal is lodged and shall be agreed upon in the decision of the appeal.

3. The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office may not, on its own initiative or at the request of a party, exercise the power of review provided for in Article 102 of Law No 30/1992, if the invalidity of the trade mark is based on any of the the causes provided for in Articles 51 and 52 of this Law.

Such causes of nullity can only be enforced before the Courts.

4. The acts and decisions given, by virtue of their powers, by the competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities, shall be subject to the provisions of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 on the legal system of administrations. Public and the Common Administrative Procedure, as well as in the organic rules governing the respective organs.

Article 28. Arbitration.

1. Interested parties may submit to arbitration the litigious matters arising out of the procedure for registration of a mark, in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

2. The arbitration may only deal with the related prohibitions provided for in Articles 6.1.b, 7.1.b), 8 and 9 of this Law. In no case may questions concerning the concurrency or not of formal defects or absolute prohibitions of registration be submitted to arbitration.

3. The arbitration agreement shall be valid only if it is subscribed, in addition to the applicant for the mark:

(a) By the holders of the earlier rights which have caused the refusal of the mark and, where appropriate, by its registered exclusive licensees.

(b) By the holders of the earlier rights who have expressed opposition to the registration of the trade mark and, where appropriate, by its registered exclusive licensees.

c) By those who have brought an action or appeared during the appeal.

4. The arbitration agreement must be notified to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office by all interested parties after the administrative procedure of registration of the mark has been completed and before the administrative act that has been established has been established. post ended to the same. If the administrative appeal of an ordinary character is resolved against the act granting or denying the registration, the administrative-administrative procedure shall be issued without the signature of the arbitration agreement being enforceable.

5. Under the terms of the arbitration agreement, and as long as it is a subsidiary, no ordinary administrative appeal shall be lodged. Similarly, if the agreement has been lodged prior to the signing of the agreement, it shall be withdrawn.

6. The final arbitration award shall have the effect of res judicata, in accordance with the provisions of Article 37 of Law 36/1988 of 5 December 1988, of Arbitration, of application in any event not provided for in this Article, and the Spanish Office of Patents and Trademarks will proceed to perform the necessary actions for their execution.

7. The final arbitration award shall be communicated to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office within six months from the date of receipt of the notification provided for in paragraph 4. After that period, the arbitral award shall not be executed.

Article 29. Notifications.

1. The notifications to be made by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office shall be in accordance with the provisions of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 on the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and the Common Administrative Procedure, without prejudice to the provisions set out in the following paragraphs.

2. Where a recipient so requests and has a mailbox in the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, notifications may be made by the deposit in that mailbox of the act or resolution to be notified. The notification shall indicate the date of deposit and shall produce its effects from the fifth day following the day of deposit.

3. Where the person concerned so requests, the notifications shall be made by means of a publication in the 'Official Journal of Industrial Property' by fax, by e-mail, or by any other technical means available to the Office. Spanish Patent and Trademark. Notifications to be made to the person concerned through a professional representative shall in any case be made by means of publication in the "Official Journal of the Industrial Property" of the decision, with the indication of whether or not it is (i) the final decision of the Council of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Parliament act to that representative by means of his deposit in the mailbox at his disposal in the Spanish Office of Patents and trademarks, electronic mail or other appropriate means available to the Office in the form that it is regulated.

4. Those who are parties to proceedings before the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office in which they act for themselves and are not registered in Spain shall, for the purposes of notifications, designate a registered office in Spain.

5. Where the persons concerned in a procedure are unknown, the place of notification in Spain is ignored or the notification could not be carried out after two attempts, the notification shall be made by publication in the 'Bulletin'. Industrial Property Officer. "

6. The notifications to be made by the competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 on the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and the Rules of Procedure Common Administrative and own rules applicable to them.

Article 30. Public consultation of files.

1. Files relating to applications for registration not yet published may only be consulted with the consent of the applicant. However, anyone who proves that the registrant has sought to assert in front of him the rights arising from his application, may consult the file prior to the publication of that file and without the consent of the applicant.

2. Once the application has been published, the files may be consulted upon request and subject to the limitations to be established.

3. The legal status of the files shall be made public by telematic means in the form and with the technical limitations which may be submitted and those which are regulated.

TITLE IV

Duration, Renovation, and Modification of Trademark

Article 31. Duration.

The registration of a mark is granted for ten years from the filing date of the application and may be renewed for successive periods of ten years.

Article 32. Refresh.

1. The registration of the mark shall be renewed upon application by the holder of the trade mark or his successors in title, filed with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office or the bodies referred to in Article 11, which shall prove this quality in the Regulation (EU) No. If the application is not lodged with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, the body which receives the application shall forward it, together with the accompanying documents, within five days to the Office, with the time limit for its decision on the basis of the the receipt of the file.

2. The application shall be accompanied by proof of payment of the renewal fee, the amount of which shall be determined by the number of classes comprising the application for renewal.

3. The application shall be submitted and the fee shall be paid in the six months preceding the expiry of the registration.

In its absence, it may still be valid for a period of six months from the expiration of the registration, with the obligation to satisfy, simultaneously, a surcharge of 25 percent of the quota if the income has place during the first three months, and 50 percent if it is carried out within the next three months.

4. If the renewal fee or, where applicable, the surcharges are not paid in full, the renewal shall be granted in respect of those fully paid classes, following the order of the application.

5. If the application for renewal covers only part of the goods or services for which the trade mark has been registered, the registration of the mark shall be renewed only in relation to the goods or services concerned.

6. The renewal, which shall be entered in the Register of Marks and published in the "Official Journal of Industrial Property", shall take effect from the day following the date of expiry of the corresponding period of ten years.

7. If the renewal is not agreed, 75 percent of the renewal fee paid will be reimbursed at the request of the person concerned.

Article 33. Modification.

1. The mark will not be modified in the Register for the duration of the registration, nor will it be modified when it is renewed.

However, if the trademark includes the name and address of the owner, any modification or deletion of these that does not substantially affect the identity of the trademark as originally registered, may be registered with Instance of the holder.

2. The application for amendment, lodged with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office or the competent body in accordance with Article 11, shall give rise to the payment of the fee and if it is registered, shall be published in the 'Official Journal of Industrial Property' means a reproduction of the mark as amended. Any third party deemed to be injured may have recourse to this amendment.

If the application is not filed with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, the application shall be made in accordance with the effects expressed in paragraph 1 of the previous article.

TITLE V

Brand right content

CHAPTER I

Effects of the registration of the mark and its application

Article 34. Rights conferred by the trade mark.

1. The registration of the trade mark confers on its holder the exclusive right to use it in economic traffic.

2. The proprietor of the registered trade mark may prohibit third parties, without their consent, from using in economic traffic:

a) Any sign identical to the mark for products or services identical to those for which the trademark is registered.

(b) Any sign which is identical or similar to the mark and is identical or similar to the goods or services implies a risk of public confusion; the risk of confusion includes the risk of association between the sign and the mark.

c) Any sign identical or similar for products or services that are not similar to those for which the trademark is registered, when it is known or renamed in Spain and with the use of the sign made without fair cause may be indicated a connection between those goods or services and the proprietor of the trade mark or, in general, where such use may involve an improper use or an impairment of the distinctive character or the reputation or reputation of the trade mark registered.

3. Where the conditions listed in the above paragraph are met, it may be prohibited, in particular:

a) Put the sign in the products or in their presentation.

b) Offer the products, market them or store them for those purposes or offer or provide services with the sign.

c) Import or export the products with the sign.

d) Use the sign in business documents and advertising.

e) Use the sign in telematic communication networks and as the domain name.

(f) Putting the sign in packaging, packaging, labels or other means of identification or ornamentation of the product or service, making or providing them, or manufacturing, manufacturing, offering, marketing, importing, exporting or storing any of those means incorporating the sign, if there is a possibility that such means may be used to perform any act which in accordance with the above letters would be prohibited.

4. The proprietor of a registered trade mark may prevent traders or distributors from deleting such a mark without his express consent, although he may not prevent them from adding separate marks or distinctive signs on a separate basis, provided that this does not undermine the distinctiveness of the main mark.

5. The provisions of this Article shall apply to the unregistered trade mark "known" in Spain within the meaning of Article 6a of the Paris Convention, except as provided for in paragraph 2 (c).

Article 35. Reproduction of the mark in dictionaries.

If the reproduction of a mark in a dictionary, encyclopedia or similar query work gives the impression that it constitutes the generic term of the goods or services for which the trademark is registered, the publisher, upon request of the proprietor of the trade mark, he shall ensure that the reproduction of the mark is accompanied, at the latest in the next edition of the work, by the indication that it is a registered trade mark.

Article 36. Exhaustion of the trademark right.

1. The right conferred by the trade mark registration shall not allow its holder to prohibit third parties from the use of the trade mark for products placed on the European Economic Area with that mark by the holder or with his consent.

2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply where there are legitimate grounds for the holder to object to the subsequent placing on the market of the products, in particular where the status of the products has been changed or altered after they have been placed on the market.

Article 37. Limitations of the trademark right.

The right conferred by the trademark shall not allow its holder to prohibit third parties from the use in economic traffic, provided that such use is made in accordance with fair industrial or commercial practices:

(a) Its name and address; (b) indications relating to the species, quality, quantity, destination, value, geographical origin, time of obtaining the product or service or other characteristics of the service; (c) The mark, where necessary to indicate the destination of a product or service, in particular as accessories or spare parts.

Article 38. Provisional protection.

1. The right conferred by the registration of the trade mark can only be enforced before a third party from the publication of its concession. However, the application for trade mark registration confers on the holder, from the date of its publication, a provisional protection consistent with the right to require reasonable and appropriate compensation for the circumstances, if a third party had carried out, between that date and the date of publication of the concession, a use of the mark which after that period would be prohibited.

2. Such provisional protection shall be applicable even before the publication of the application in respect of the person to whom the presentation and the content of the application have been notified.

3. It is understood that the application for trade mark registration has never had the effects provided for in paragraph 1 where it has been or has been withdrawn, or where it has been refused pursuant to a final decision.

4. The provisional protection provided for in this Article may be claimed only after the publication of the award of registration of the mark.

CHAPTER II

Obligation to use the mark

Article 39. Use of the mark.

1. If, within five years from the date of publication of the concession, the mark has not been the subject of effective and actual use in Spain for the goods or services for which it is registered, or if such use has been suspended for an uninterrupted period of five years, the trade mark shall be subject to the penalties provided for in this Law, unless there are grounds for the lack of use.

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, it shall also be considered for use:

a) The use of the mark in a manner that differs in elements that do not significantly alter the distinctive character of the mark in the form under which it is registered.

b) The use of the trademark in Spain, applying it to the products or services or to its presentation, for exclusively export purposes.

3. The trademark shall be deemed to be used by its holder when it is used by a third party with its consent.

4. The reasons for the lack of use of the trade mark shall be recognised as reasons for the absence of any obstinative circumstances which are independent of the wishes of the holder, such as restrictions on imports or other official requirements imposed on products or products. services for which you are registered.

CHAPTER III

Shares for trademark law violation

Article 40. Possibility of exercising civil and criminal actions.

The proprietor of a registered trade mark may bring before the courts the civil or criminal proceedings which correspond to those who damage his right and to require the measures necessary for his/her safeguard, all without prejudice to submission to arbitration, if possible.

Article 41. Civil actions that can be exercised by the trademark holder.

1. In particular, the holder whose trademark law is injured may claim on the civil road:

a) The cessation of acts that violate their right.

b) Compensation for damages suffered.

(c) The adoption of the necessary measures to prevent the continuation of the violation, and in particular the removal of the products, packaging, packaging, advertising material, labels or other documents from the economic traffic, the violation of the trademark law has materialised.

(d) the destruction or disposal for humanitarian purposes, if possible, at the choice of the actor, and at the expense of the offender, of the products illicitly identified with the mark in possession of the offender, unless the the nature of the product allows the removal of the distinguishing sign without affecting the product or the destruction of the product produces a disproportionate damage to the infringer or the owner, depending on the specific circumstances of each case assessed by the Court.

e) The publication of the sentence at the expense of the sentenced person by means of notices and notifications to the persons concerned.

2. Where the proprietor of a trade mark, who has been registered for at least five years at the time of filing the application, has, by means of one of the measures provided for in paragraph 1, exercised the rights conferred by Article 34, must prove, if so requested by the defendant by way of derogation, that, in the course of the five years preceding the date on which the application was lodged, the trade mark has been the subject of effective and actual use for the goods or services for which it is registered and on which the claim is based, or that there are reasons for the lack of use. For these purposes, the mark shall be deemed to be registered only for the goods or services for which it has actually been used. The defendant may also exercise, by way of counterclaim, the declaration of revocation action for lack of use of the actor's mark.

Article 42. Damage and damage compensation budgets.

1. Those who, without the consent of the proprietor of the trade mark, carry out any of the acts referred to in Article 34.3 (a) and (f), as well as those responsible for the first placing on the market of the illicitly marked products or services, shall be in any event to be liable for damages caused.

2. All those who perform any other act of violation of the registered trade mark shall only be obliged to indemnify the damages caused if they have been sufficiently warned by the owner of the trademark or, if applicable, the person legitimized to exercise the action concerning the existence of this, properly identified, and of its violation, with the requirement that they cease in the same, or when in its performance it has mediated guilt or negligence or the mark in question notorious or renamed.

Article 43. Calculation of the compensation for damages.

1. The compensation for damages shall include not only the losses incurred, but also the profits left from obtaining by the owner of the registration of the trade mark because of the violation of his right. The proprietor of the trade mark may also require compensation for the damage caused to the prestige of the mark by the infringer, in particular, for defective performance of the products unlawfully marked or an inadequate presentation of that on the market.

2. The profit left to be obtained shall be determined, at the discretion of the injured party, according to one of the following criteria:

a) The benefits that the holder would have obtained by using the trademark if the violation had not taken place.

b) The benefits that the offender has obtained as a result of the violation.

(c) The price the infringer would have had to pay to the holder for the grant of a licence which would have allowed him to carry out his/her use in accordance with the law.

3. For the fixing of the compensation, account shall be taken, inter alia, of the reputation, reputation and prestige of the trade mark and the number and class of licences granted at the time of the infringement. In the event of damage to the prestige of the mark, in addition, the circumstances of the infringement, the severity of the injury and the degree of diffusion in the market will be dealt with.

4. In order to fix the amount of damages suffered, the proprietor of the trade mark may require the display of the documents of the person responsible for that purpose.

5. The owner of the trademark whose violation would have been declared judicially will have, in any case and without any need for proof, the right to receive damages of 1 percent of the turnover made by the the offender with the illicitly marked products or services. The proprietor of the trade mark may, in addition, require further compensation if he proves that the infringement of his mark caused him to be damaged or damaged in excess, in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraphs.

Article 44. Coercive allowances.

Where the cessation of acts of infringement of a trade mark is condemned, the Court shall set a fixed amount of compensation of not less than EUR 600 per day after the effective cessation of the infringement. The amount of this allowance and the day from which the obligation to indemnify will arise shall be fixed in execution of the judgment.

Article 45. Prescribing actions.

1. Civil actions arising from the violation of trademark law are prescribed at the age of five, counted from the day they were able to exercise.

2. Compensation for damages may only be required in relation to acts of rape carried out during the five years preceding the date on which the action was taken.

CHAPTER IV

The mark as a property right object

Article 46. General principles.

1. The trade mark or his application may belong to several persons. The resulting community shall be governed by what is agreed between the parties, failing this paragraph and ultimately by the rules of the common law on the community of goods. The granting of licences and the independent use of the mark by each participant must be agreed in accordance with the provisions of Article 398 of the Civil Code. Each participant may in itself exercise civil and criminal actions in defence of the trade mark, but must notify the other community members so that they can join them and contribute to the payment of the expenses incurred. In the event of the transfer of the mark or of a holding, the members may exercise the right of entry within one month from the moment they were notified of the purpose and conditions under which the transfer would take place. In the absence of prior notice or if the transfer has been carried out in a manner other than that which has been prevented, the members may exercise the right of retraction, in the same period, from the publication of the registration of the assignment in the Register of Marks. The absolute and unjustified opposition of a participant to the use of the mark in such a way as to give rise to his declaration of revocation shall be deemed, for all purposes, to be a waiver of his right.

2. Irrespective of the transfer of the whole or part of the undertaking, the mark and its application may be transmitted, given as a guarantee or subject to other actual rights, licences, purchasing options, embargoes or other measures resulting from the the execution procedure, for all or part of the goods or services for which they are registered or requested, and to register in the Register of Marks, without prejudice to other legal businesses which may be subject to the right of trade mark. In the event that a mortgage is established, it shall be governed by its specific provisions and shall be entered in Section 4 of the Register of Furniture, with notification of such registration to the Spanish Patent Office and Marks for your annotation in the Trademark Register. For these purposes, both registers shall be coordinated in such a way as to communicate the charges relating to marks registered or recorded in the same.

3. The legal acts referred to in the preceding paragraph may only be opposed to bona fide third parties once entered in the Register of Marks.

4. Registered in the Register of Marks of the rights or encumbrances referred to in paragraph 2, no other of the same or previous date may be registered that is opposite or incompatible with that. If only the application for registration has been entered, no other right or charge of the class above may be registered up to the resolution of the registration.

5. The application for registration which first accesses the competent body shall be preferred over those which it has subsequently entered into, with the corresponding registration operations being carried out in accordance with the order of business.

6. The Registration of Marks is public. Advertising shall be made effective, after payment of the corresponding public charges or prices, by means of individual access to the databases, the provision of computer listings, the authorized consultation of the files, the obtaining of copies of the and certifications and, free of charge, in the form provided for in the 11th additional provision of this Law.

Article 47. Transmission of the mark.

1. The transfer of the undertaking in its entirety shall involve that of its trade marks, unless otherwise agreed or clearly detached from the circumstances of the case.

2. If the documents establishing the transmission were to be shown in a manifest manner, the mark could mislead the public, in particular as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of the products or of the products or of the products concerned. the services for which it is requested or registered, the registration of the transmission shall be refused unless the acquirer agrees to limit the application or registration of the mark to goods or services for which it is not misleading.

Article 48. License.

1. Both the application and the trade mark may be licensed on all or part of the products and services for which it is registered and for all or part of the Spanish territory. Licenses may be unique or non-exclusive.

2. The rights conferred by the registration of the trade mark or by his application may be exercised in respect of any licensee who violates any of the provisions of the licence agreement relating to its duration, to the form protected by registration, the nature of the goods or services, the territory in which the trade mark may be affixed or the quality of the products manufactured or the services provided by the licensee.

3. The holder of a licence may not give it to third parties or sublicences unless otherwise agreed.

4. Unless otherwise agreed, the holder of a licence shall have the right to use the trademark for the entire duration of the registration, including renewals, throughout the national territory and in respect of all products or services for which the mark is registered.

5. Unless otherwise agreed, the licence shall be understood to mean that the licence is not exclusive and that the licensor may grant other licences and use the trade mark for himself.

6. Where the licence is exclusive, the licensor may use the trademark only if that right has been expressly reserved in the contract.

Article 49. Application for the registration of changes in rights.

1. The registration of the change in the ownership of the trade mark must be applied for by application in the form which is regulated. The application for registration shall be accompanied by proof of payment of the corresponding fee to be paid according to the records concerned.

2. If the transmission of the entitlement results from a contract, the instance must express it. The choice of the applicant shall be accompanied by any of the following documents:

(a) Authentic copy of the contract or simple copy of the contract with the legitimation of signatures by a notary or by another competent public authority.

(b) Extract of the contract in which the statement is made by notarial testimony or by another competent public authority that the extract is in accordance with the original contract.

c) A certificate or transfer document signed by both the owner and the new owner, adjusted to the model to be regulated.

3. If the change in ownership is caused by a merger, by law, by resolution admi nistrativa or by judicial decision, must accompany the instance testimony emanating from the public authority issuing the document, or copy of the document proving the change, authenticated or legitimized by a notary or by another competent public authority. In the same way, the registration of liens and other judicial measures will be requested.

4. The preceding paragraphs shall apply, in all cases which are not incompatible with their nature, to the registration of the other legal acts or acts referred to in Article 46 (2), except for the mortgage which is shall be governed by its specific provisions and the constitution of other real rights or an option to purchase, for which registration must be accompanied by any of the public documents referred to in paragraph 2 (a) or (b).

Article 50. Procedure for the registration of changes in rights.

1. The registration of the legal acts and businesses referred to in Article 46 (2) may be applied by the transferor as well as by the transferee and the application for registration shall be lodged, in accordance with whomever the applicant is, in the body. which is competent in accordance with the provisions of Article 11.

2. Upon receipt of the application for registration, the competent authority shall renumber and date at the time of its receipt and, within the following five days, shall, where appropriate, transmit the information to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office in the form that Regulation is determined.

3. The competent authority for the reception shall examine whether the documentation provided consists of:

(a) An application instance in accordance with the official model, containing the number of the trade mark concerned, the identification data of the new holder and the indication of the products or services to which the transfer is affected; license, if not total.

(b) The document supporting the assignment or license in accordance with the provisions of Article 49 (2), (3) and (4).

c) The corresponding rate credit justification.

4. If the application for registration does not comply with the conditions laid down in the preceding paragraph, the competent authority shall communicate the irregularities observed to the applicant so that, within the time limit laid down by law, the applicant shall provide the aid. If they are not remedied, the application for registration shall be withdrawn, where appropriate, as provided for in Article 17 (2). If the application does not present any of these irregularities or the irregularities have been remedied, the competent authority of the Autonomous Community shall, if it is dealt with, proceed as provided for in Article 17 (1

.

5. Upon receipt of the application for registration, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office shall examine the documentation submitted and shall describe the legality, validity and effectiveness of the acts to be registered. If any defect is observed, the processing of the registration shall be suspended, notifying the person concerned that, within the time limit laid down by law, the defects which have been identified shall be remedied.

Elapsed time the enrollment request will be resolved.

6. Where the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office may reasonably doubt the veracity of any indication contained in the application for registration or in the documents accompanying it, it may require the applicant to provide evidence which demonstrate the veracity of these indications.

7. The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office shall decide to grant or refuse, in whole or in part, the application for registration. In the case of refusal, the reasons for the refusal shall be given succinctly. The relapse resolution will be published in the "Official Journal of Industrial Property", with explicit mention of the following data:

a) New right holder.

b) Case number.

c) Identification of the affected records.

d) Date of resolution.

e) Representative, if you have intervened.

f) The act that gave rise to the registration.

TITLE VI

Brand nullity and expiration

CHAPTER I

Nullity

Article 51. Causes of absolute nullity.

1. The registration of the mark may be declared null by final judgment and be cancelled:

(a) When contravening the provisions of Article 3 (1) and (2) and Article 5 of this Law.

b) When submitting the trademark application the applicant would have acted in bad faith.

2. The action to order the absolute nullity of a trademark is imprinted.

3. Nullity may not be declared when its cause has disappeared at the time of filing. In particular, the declaration of invalidity of a trade mark shall not be declared, where, having registered in contravention of Article 5 (1) (b), (c) or (d), the trade mark has acquired a distinctive character for the products or services for which it is registered for the use that would have been made of it by its holder or with its consent.

Article 52. Causes of relative nullity.

1. The registration of the mark may be declared null and void by final judgment and shall be the subject of cancellation when it contravenes the provisions of Articles 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

2. The holder of an earlier right which has tolerated the use of a later trade mark for a period of five consecutive years with knowledge of such use shall not henceforth apply for the nullity of the later trade mark or oppose the use of such a mark. on the basis of that earlier right for the goods or services for which the subsequent trade mark had been used, unless the latter's application had been made in bad faith, in which case the action would be imprinted. In the case referred to in this paragraph, the holder of the subsequent trade mark shall not object to the use of the earlier right, even though that right may no longer be invoked against the subsequent mark.

3. Where the proprietor of an earlier trade mark, who has been registered for at least five years at the time of filing the application, requests the invalidity of another trade mark, he must prove, if so requested by the defendant by way of exception, that, in the course of five years prior to the date on which the application was lodged, the trade mark has been the subject of effective and actual use for the goods or services for which it is registered and on which the application is based, or where the reasons for the application are justified. lack of use. For these purposes, the mark shall be deemed to be registered only for the goods or services for which it has actually been used.

Article 53. Extension of the res judicata exception.

You may not sue before the civil jurisdiction the nullity of a trade mark, invoking the same cause of nullity which would have already been the subject of a statement, as to the substance of the matter, in a judgment given in appeal administrative-litigation, who would have been a party to it.

Article 54. Effects of the declaration of invalidity.

1. The declaration of invalidity implies that the registration of the mark was never valid, considering that neither the registration nor the application that originated it has ever had the effects provided for in Chapter I of Title V of this Law, in so far as which has been declared invalid.

2. Without prejudice to the compensation for damages to which the proprietor of the trade mark has acted in bad faith, the retroactive effect of the invalidity shall not affect:

(a) To the resolutions on violation of the mark that would have acquired force of res judicata and would have been executed before the declaration of nullity.

(b) To contracts concluded before the declaration of invalidity in so far as they have been executed prior to the declaration of invalidity. However, for reasons of fairness, and to the extent justified by the circumstances, it will be possible to claim the refund of sums paid under the contract.

CHAPTER II

Expiration

Article 55. Expiration.

1. The mark's expiry shall be declared and the registration shall be cancelled:

(a) Where it has not been renewed as provided for in Article 32 of this Law.

(b) When he had been the subject of resignation by his holder.

c) When it was not used in accordance with Article 39 of this Law.

(d) When in trade it would have become, by the activity or inactivity of its holder, the usual designation of a product or a service for which it is registered.

(e) When as a result of the use which the proprietor of the mark has made, or which has been done with his consent, for the goods or services for which it is registered, the mark may mislead the public, especially concerning the nature, quality or geographical origin of these products or services.

f) Where, as a result of a transfer of rights or for other reasons, the proprietor of the trade mark does not already comply with the conditions laid down in Article 3 of the Law. Only expiration will be declared and registration will be cancelled as long as this non-compliance persists.

In the first two cases the expiration will be declared by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office and in the following four by the Courts.

2. The expired marks shall cease to have legal effect from the time when the facts or omissions which gave rise to the expiry date were produced, irrespective of the date on which their publication was made in the Official Journal of the European Union. Industrial Property '. The forecasts laid down in Article 54 (2) of this Law shall apply to the retroactive effect of the expiry date.

Article 56. Expiration due to lack of refresh.

1. Where there are registered liens on a mark or a claim in progress and the holder has not renewed it, the mark shall not expire until the lifting of the embargo or the definitive dismissal of the claim. If, as a result of these proceedings, a change in the ownership of the trade mark occurs, the new proprietor may renew it within two months from the date on which the judgment on the claim for action would have won firm or since the competent authority or court has notified the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office of the final award of the embargoed mark. After that period, the mark shall expire if it has not been renewed.

2. You will also not expire a trademark for lack of renewal when you are registered with the Trademark Register for a mortgage on the same. The mortgage holder may apply for renewal on behalf of its owner within one month from the end of the delay period provided for in Article 32.3 of this Law. The mortgage holder may also pay the renewal fees within one month from the end of the period in which they were due to be paid by the owner. The inactivity of the mortgage holder within the prescribed time limits shall determine the expiry of the mark.

Article 57. Renunciation of the mark.

1. The holder may waive the entire mark or part of the goods or services for which it is registered.

2. The waiver shall be filed with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office or the bodies referred to in Article 11 in writing and shall only have effect once entered in the Trademark Register. If the application is lodged with a body other than the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, the body which receives the application shall forward it to it, together with the accompanying documentation, within five days of its receipt.

3. The waiver of the holder of a trade mark on which there are real rights, options for purchase, liens or licenses registered in the Trademark Registry cannot be accepted without the consent of the holders of those rights. The waiver shall not be admissible if a claim on the mark is in progress and shall not include the consent of the claimant.

Article 58. Expiration due to non-use of the mark.

In the expiry action for lack of use of the mark it shall be for the owner of the mark to prove that it has been used in accordance with Article 39 or that there are reasons for the lack of use. The expiry of the mark may not be declared if, in the interval between the expiry of the five-year period referred to in Article 39 and the filing of the application for revocation, an effective use of the trade mark has been initiated or resumed; however, the commencement or resumption of use within a period of three months preceding the filing of the application for revocation, the time limit which shall begin to run on the date not before the expiry of the uninterrupted period of five years of non-use, it shall not be taken into account whether preparations for the initiation or resumption of use would have occurred after have known the holder that the expiration claim could be filed.

CHAPTER III

Common Provisions

Article 59. Legitimization.

The declarative action of nullity or expiration of the registration of the mark may be exercised:

(a) In the cases provided for in Articles 51 and 55 (c), (d), (e) and (f), by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, as well as by any natural or legal person or by any grouping legally constituted for representation the interests of manufacturers, producers, service providers, traders or consumers who are affected or have a subjective right or a legitimate interest.

(b) In the cases provided for in Article 52, by the holders of the earlier rights affected by the registration of the trade mark, or by their successors in the case of the earlier rights provided for in points (a) and (b) of the Article 9 of this Law.

Article 60. Nullity and partial expiration.

If the cause of nullity or expiration only exists for a portion of the goods or services for which the trademark is registered, your declaration will only be extended to the affected products or services.

Article 61. Log and execute log and statement communication.

1. The Court, at the request of the applicant, has admitted to proceedings the application for annulment or revocation of the registration of the trade mark, and to order the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office to make the application of the application in the Register of Marks.

2. Once the judgment is signed, the declaration of nullity or revocation of the registration of the mark will have force of res judicata in front of all.

3. The final judgment declaring the invalidity or revocation of the registration of the trade mark shall be communicated, either on its own initiative or at the request of a party, to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, so as to immediately cancel the registration of the registration and publication in the "Official Journal of Industrial Property".

TITLE VII

Collective marks and warranty marks

CHAPTER I

Collective Marks

Article 62. Concept and entitlement.

1. A collective mark is defined as any sign capable of graphic representation, of those referred to in Article 4 (2), which serves to distinguish on the market the goods or services of the members of a trade mark of the products or services of other companies.

2. Only associations of producers, manufacturers, traders or service providers having legal capacity, as well as legal persons governed by public law, may apply for collective marks.

3. By way of derogation from Article 5 (1) (c), signs or indications which may serve in trade may be registered as collective marks in order to indicate the geographical origin of the products or services. The right conferred by the collective mark shall not allow its holder to prohibit a third party from using in trade such signs or indications, provided that such use is carried out in accordance with fair industrial or commercial practices; The trade mark may not object to a third party authorised to use a geographical name.

4. The collective mark shall not be given to third parties or may be authorised for use by third parties which are not officially recognised by the association.

Article 63. Usage Regulation.

1. The application for the registration of a collective mark shall be accompanied by a regulation of use, in which, in addition to the identification data of the applicant association, the persons authorised to use the mark shall be specified, the conditions of membership of the association, the conditions of use of the trade mark, the reasons why the use of the mark may be prohibited from a member of the association and other penalties in which it may incur.

2. If the collective mark consists of an indication of geographical origin, the rules of use shall provide that any person whose products or services come from that geographical area and which comply with the conditions laid down by it may become a member of the association.

Article 64. Refusal of the request.

1. The application for registration of a collective mark shall be refused in the form and on the same grounds as an individual mark and, in addition, where it does not comply with the provisions of Articles 62 and 63, or where the rules of use are contrary to the law, to order public or good manners.

2. The application for a collective mark shall also be refused where it may mislead the public about the character or significance of the mark, in particular where it may give the impression that it is something other than a collective mark.

3. The application shall not be refused if the applicant, by means of an amendment to the rules of use, complies with the requirements set out in paragraphs 1 and 2.

Article 65. Modification of the usage regulation.

1. The owner of the collective mark shall submit to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office any proposal for the modification of the rules of use. The amendment shall be rejected where the amended use regulation does not comply with the requirements of Article 63 or incurs any of the prohibitions on the registration of Article 64.

2. The modification of the regulations of use will have effects from its registration in the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.

Article 66. Causes of nullity.

In addition to the grounds for invalidity provided for in Articles 51 and 52, the registration of a collective mark shall be declared invalid where it has been registered in contravention of the provisions of Article 64, unless the holder of the the trade mark, by amendment of the rules of use, complies with the requirements of those provisions.

Article 67. Causes of expiration.

The registration of a collective mark shall lapse, in addition to the causes provided for in Article 55, where one of the following circumstances is present and is declared in a final judgment:

(a) That the holder has arbitrarily denied entry into the association to a person trained to do so or has failed to fulfil any other essential provision of the regulation of use of the trademark. In the case of the admission of a person to the association, the Court may, in the circumstances, refrain from declaring the revocation, condemning the holder to admit in the association to the person arbitrarily excluded.

b) That the holder has not taken appropriate measures to prevent the trademark from being used in a manner incompatible with the rules of use.

(c) That as a result of the use permitted by the holder, the mark has become liable to mislead the public within the meaning of Article 64 (2).

(d) A modification of the rules of use has been registered in contravention of the provisions of Article 65 (1), unless the proprietor of the trade mark, by means of a new amendment to the rules of use, shall comply with the requirements set by those provisions.

CHAPTER II

Warranty Marks

Article 68. Concept.

1. A guarantee mark is defined as any sign capable of graphic representation, of those expressed in Article 4.2, used by a plurality of undertakings under the control and authorization of its holder, certifying that the products or services to (a) those that are applied comply with common requirements, in particular with regard to their quality, components, geographical origin, technical conditions or manner of product or service delivery.

2. They may not apply for warranty marks who manufacture or market identical or similar products or services to those for whom the trade mark is to be registered.

3. The provisions of Article 62 (3) shall apply to the guarantee marks.

Article 69. Usage Regulation.

1. The application for registration of a guarantee mark must be accompanied by a regulation of use in which the persons authorized to use the mark shall be indicated, the common characteristics of the products or services to be certified, the the manner in which these characteristics, the controls and monitoring of the use of the mark to be carried out shall be verified, the responsibilities in which the improper use of the mark and the licence fee may be incurred, which, where appropriate, shall be required of use the mark.

2. The rules of use shall be reported favourably by the administrative body responsible for the nature of the products or services to which the guarantee mark relates. The report shall be deemed to be favourable for the period of three months from its application without the competent administrative authority having issued it. In the event of an unfavourable report, the application for registration of the guarantee mark shall be refused, where appropriate, by the applicant.

3. If the guarantee mark consists of an indication of geographical origin, the rules of use shall provide for any person whose products or services come from that geographical area to comply with the conditions laid down by it, you can use the mark.

Article 70. Refusal of the request.

1. The application for registration of a guarantee mark shall be refused in the form and on the same grounds as an individual mark and, in addition, where it does not comply with Articles 68 and 69, or where the rules of use are contrary to the law, to the public order or good manners.

2. The application for a guarantee mark shall also be refused where it can mislead the public about the character or significance of the mark, in particular where it may give the impression that it is something other than a mark of guarantee.

3. The application shall not be refused if the applicant, by means of an amendment to the rules of use, complies with the requirements set out in paragraphs 1 and 2.

Article 71. Modification of the usage regulation.

1. The holder of the guarantee mark must submit to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office any proposal to modify the rules of use. The amendment shall be rejected where the amended use regulation does not comply with the requirements of Article 69 or incurs any of the prohibitions in Article 70.

2. The modification of the regulations of use will have effects from its registration in the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.

Article 72. Causes of nullity.

In addition to the grounds for invalidity provided for in Articles 51 and 52, the registration of a guarantee mark shall be declared invalid where it has been registered in contravention of the provisions of Article 70, unless the holder of the the trade mark, by amendment of the rules of use, complies with the requirements of the provisions cited above.

Article 73. Causes of expiration.

The registration of a warranty mark shall expire, in addition to the causes provided for in Article 55, where one of the following circumstances is present and is declared in a final judgment:

(a) That the holder has arbitrarily denied the use of the trademark to a person trained for it or has failed to fulfil any other essential provision of the brand's rules of use. In the event of an unjustified refusal to use the trademark, the Tribunal may, in the circumstances, refrain from declaring the use of the mark, condemning the holder to authorize the use of the mark to the person arbitrarily excluded.

b) That the holder has not taken appropriate measures to prevent the trademark from being used in a manner incompatible with the rules of use.

(c) That, as a result of the use permitted by the holder, the mark has become liable to mislead the public within the meaning of Article 70 (2).

(d) A modification of the rules of use has been registered in violation of the provisions of Article 71 (1), except if the proprietor of the trademark, by means of a new amendment to the rules of use,

shall conform to the requirements set by those provisions.

e) That the holder has used the trademark for the products or services that he or a person who is economically related to the fabric or supplies.

CHAPTER III

Common Provisions

Article 74. Public character of the regulation of use.

The regulation of use of the collective or guarantee marks deposited with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office may be freely consulted by any person, without charge.

Article 75. Use of the mark.

The requirement for the use of the collective and warranty marks shall be deemed to be fulfilled by the use that any person empowered in accordance with Article 39 of this Law.

Article 76. Exercise of actions.

1. Actions arising from the registration of a collective mark or a guarantee shall not be exercised by the persons empowered to use such marks, unless expressly authorised by the holder or contrary provision of the rules of use.

2. The owner of a collective mark or guarantee may, on behalf of the persons empowered to use the mark, claim compensation for the damage suffered by the unauthorised use of the mark.

Article 77. Temporary prohibition to register cancelled collective or warranty marks.

The collective and warranty marks whose registration has been cancelled by any of the causes provided for in this Law may not be registered in connection with identical or similar products or services for a period of three years. years from the day on which the cancellation of the registration of the mark was published or, if they were expired for lack of renewal, from the day on which the time limit for the renewal of the registration was concluded.

Article 78. Applicable rules.

The rules of this Law relating to individual marks shall apply to collective and warranty marks, unless otherwise provided for in this Title.

TITLE VIII

International brands

Article 79. Application for territorial extension to Spain.

Whenever the holder expressly requests it, the international registration of a mark effected under the Act in force in Spain of the Madrid Agreement of 14 April 1891 concerning the International Registration of Marks (called hereinafter referred to as "the Madrid Agreement"), of the Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreement of 27 June 1989 (hereinafter referred to as the "Protocol") or both, will extend its effects in Spain.

Article 80. Refusal and granting of protection in Spain.

1. The protection of the international trade mark may be refused in Spain in accordance with Article 5 of the Madrid Agreement or Article 5 of the Protocol.

2. For the purposes of the grant or refusal, Articles 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27 and 28 and Article 29 (4) shall apply to the registration of the international trade mark.

3. The publication of the application referred to in Article 18 shall be replaced, for international trade marks, by the publication which the International Bureau carries out in its periodic gazette as provided for in Article 3.4 of the Madrid or in Article 3.4) of the Protocol. The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office will publish in the "Official Journal of Industrial Property" a mention of the aforementioned publication of the International Bureau.

4. The period of opposition laid down in Article 19.2 shall start from the publication in the Official Journal of the Industrial Property of the words referred to in the preceding paragraph.

5. The refusal of provisional protection, in the case provided for in Article 21.1, or final, in the case provided for in Article 22.1, shall be notified to the International Bureau in the form and time limit laid down by the common regulation. of the Madrid Agreement concerning the International Registration of Marks and of the Protocol concerning that Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the "Common Rules of Procedure and the Protocol").

Article 81. Submission of the application for international registration.

1. The application shall be lodged by the proprietor of a trade mark registered in Spain under the Madrid Agreement, or by the holder or the sole applicant for a trade mark under the Protocol, in the body which is competent, in accordance with the provisions of the paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Article 11.

2. Upon application of the international registration, its renewal, or the registration of any modification shall be met a national fee, without which payment shall not be processed.

Article 82. Preliminary examination of the international application.

1. Upon receipt of the application for international registration, the competent authority shall examine:

(a) If the application has been filed in the official form provided for in the Common Rules of Procedure and the Protocol.

b) If the national rate has been paid.

2. If the application submitted does not comply with these requirements, the defects observed shall be notified to the applicant so that, within the time limit to be determined, the subsane shall be determined. If they are not remedied, the application shall be resolved by withdrawal. If the application does not present any of these defects or the defects have been remedied, the competent authority shall grant as the date of the application for international registration the date on which it received the application or the sub-healing of the application, It shall, in any case, transmit to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office within five days of the following.

3. Upon receipt of the application, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, as the Office of Origin, will examine whether:

(a) The applicant has the right to request the international registration in accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Madrid Agreement or, as the case may be, Article 2 of the Protocol.

(b) The indications given in the international application correspond to those of the national registry or, where appropriate, to those of the application for national registration, for the purposes of certifying that conformity as established by the Article 3.1) of the Madrid Agreement or, where applicable, Article 3.1) of the Protocol.

4. In the event that the international application does not have any of the requirements examined, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office shall notify the defects to the applicant by requiring them to subsane them within the prescribed period. If they are not remedied, the request will be resolved by withdrawal.

5. If the applicant subsates the defects in a timely manner, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office shall indicate as the date of the application for international registration the date on which it received the remedy.

Article 83. Transformation of an international record.

1. An international registration cancelled pursuant to Article 6.4 of the Protocol may be transformed into a national trade mark application for products or services covered in Spain by that international registration if the application is addressed to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office within three months from the date of cancellation of such international registration.

2. The applicant shall submit a request for a national registration in accordance with the provisions of Article 12 of this Law. This request shall also include the following data:

a) Indication that this is a transformation request.

b) The number and date of the international record on which it is based.

c) Indication of whether such registration is granted or pending in Spain.

(d) Home in Spain for the purposes of notifications, in accordance with Article 29.4.

The application for registration shall be accompanied by a certification by the International Bureau indicating the trade mark and the goods or services for which the protection of the international registration has had effect in Spain before its cancellation. This certification will be accompanied by your translation into Spanish.

3. The application for conversion shall be deemed to have been filed on the date of the international registration or subsequent extension for Spain, as appropriate, and, if it was a priority, it shall enjoy this right. In other words, the application for processing shall be treated as a national trade mark application. However, if the application for conversion refers to an international trade mark already granted in Spain, it shall be agreed without further processing as a national mark, applying the provisions of Article 22.4. This agreement may not be made on the basis of absolute or relative prohibitions, but may be based on the failure to comply with the conditions required for the valid conversion or direct grant of the registration. requested international.

4. For the purposes of Articles 31 and 32 of this Law, the date of filing shall be deemed to be the date of the day on which the application for processing was received by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office or, where applicable, the provided for in Article 16.3 of this Law.

TITLE IX

Community Brands

Article 84. Submission of a Community trade mark application to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.

The filing of a Community trade mark application at the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office under Article 25.1.b of Council Regulation (EC) No 40/94 of 20 December 1993 on the Community trade mark will give rise to the payment of the corresponding fee. The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office shall indicate the date of receipt of the application and the number of pages which it contains, transmitting it to the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market, if the rate previously indicated has been satisfied.

Article 85. Subsequent declaration of revocation or nullity.

When a Community trade mark benefits from the age of an earlier trade mark with effect in Spain, the revocation or invalidity of this earlier mark may be declared, even if the trade mark is already extinguished by the absence of renewal, waiver of the holder or non-payment of maintenance fees, where applicable.

Article 86. Transformation of the Community trade mark.

1. The procedure for processing an application or a Community trade mark at the request of a national trade mark shall be initiated with the receipt by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office of the request for conversion transmitted to it by the Office of Harmonisation of the Internal Market.

2. Within the time limit which is regulated by the receipt of the request for conversion by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, the applicant shall comply with the following requirements:

a) Abonar the rates set out in Article 12.2 of this Act.

b) Submit a translation to the Spanish of the request for transformation and the accompanying documents when they are not written in this language.

c) Designate an address in Spain for the purposes of notifications, in accordance with Article 29.4.

d) Supply four reproductions of the mark if the same is graphic or contain graphic elements.

3. If, within the time limit laid down in the preceding paragraph, the requirements laid down therein are not met, the application for conversion shall be withdrawn.

If the requirements are met, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office shall decide on the admissibility of the conversion requested in accordance with Articles 108.2 and 110.1 of Council Regulation (EC) 40/94, of 20 December 1993 on the Community trade mark.

4. The application for conversion shall be deemed to have been lodged at the date of filing which was granted to it as a Community trade mark application and, if it had priority or claimed seniority, it shall enjoy these rights. In addition, the application for processing shall be treated as a national trade mark application. However, if the application for conversion relates to an already registered Community trade mark, it shall be agreed without further processing as a national trade mark, applying the provisions of Article 22.4, except that, due to the waiver, the Renewal or any other cause caused by the holder, it would have been pending for a declaration as to the substance some ground of nullity or revocation capable of affecting the protection of the mark in Spain, in which case it will be treated as a National trade mark application. The direct grant agreement provided for in this paragraph may not be used on the basis of a number of absolute or relative prohibitions, but may be based on the failure to comply with the conditions required for the validity of the processing or direct grant of the Community trade mark applied for.

5. For the purposes of Articles 31 and 32 of this Law, the date of filing shall be deemed to be the date of the day on which the application for processing was received by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.

TITLE X

Commercial names

Article 87. Applicable concept and rules.

1. A commercial name means any sign capable of graphic representation which identifies a company in commercial traffic and which serves to distinguish it from other undertakings which carry out identical or similar activities.

2. In particular, they may constitute trade names:

(a) Patronimical names, social reasons and names of legal persons.

b) Fantasy names.

c) The names that are allusive to the object of the business activity.

d) Anagrams and logos.

e) Images, figures, and drawings.

f) Any combination of the signs that are mentioned in the preceding paragraphs.

3. Unless otherwise provided for in this Chapter, they shall apply to the trade name, in so far as they are not incompatible with their own nature, the rules of this Law relating to trade marks.

Article 88. Record bans.

The following signs cannot be registered as trade names:

(a) Those who cannot constitute a trade name because they do not comply with Article 87.

(b) Those who incur any of the absolute prohibitions of Article 5 of this Law.

(c) Those that may affect any earlier rights than those provided for in Articles 6 to 10 of this Act.

Article 89. Applicable classification and fees.

1. The application for registration shall specify the activities which are intended to be distinguished by the trade name applied for, grouping them by classes in accordance with the International Classification of Products and Services, in the case of activities of the provision of services or activities of production or marketing of products.

2. The application and renewal of the trade name shall be subject to the payment of the corresponding fees, according to the number of classes he understands, on the same terms as the marks.

Article 90. Rights conferred by registration.

The registration of the trade name confers the exclusive right to use it in the economic traffic in the terms provided for in this Law.

Article 91. Nullity and expiration of the trade name.

1. Provided that it is not contrary to its nature, the trade name shall be declared invalid in the form and for the same reasons provided for the trade marks and, in addition, where it has been registered in contravention of the provisions of Article 88 of the Treaty. This Act.

2. The trade name shall be stated to be valid in the form and for the same reasons as are provided for the trade marks, provided that this is not incompatible with its own nature.

Additional disposition first. Jurisdiction and procedural rules.

The existing rules contained in Title XIII of Law 11/1986 of 20 March of Patents on patents will apply to the different modalities of distinctive signs regulated in this Law, in all that which is not incompatible with its own nature, with the exception of Article 128 of that Law.

Additional provision second. Fees.

The bases and rates of charge of the fees referred to in Article 11 (4) of Law 17/1975, of 2 May, on the creation of the Autonomous Body "Registry of Industrial Property", will be, in the case of signs flags, as provided for in the Annex to this Law.

Additional provision third. Amendment of the Patent Law.

1. A new paragraph 3 is added to Article 125 of Law 11/1986 of 20 March of Patents, with the following wording:

" In the case of actions for violation of the patent right, it shall also be competent, at the choice of the plaintiff, the same Court as the previous paragraph of the Autonomous Community where the violation had been carried out. or their effects would have been produced. "

2. Article 155 of Law 11/1986, of 20 March, of Patents, is worded as follows:

" 1. They may act before the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office:

(a) The persons concerned with the capacity to act in accordance with the provisions of Title III of Law 30/1992, of 26 November, of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and of the Common Administrative Procedure.

b) The Agents of Industrial Property.

2. Non-residents in a Member State of the European Community shall, in any event, act by means of an Industrial Property Agent. "

Additional provision fourth. Compliance with procedures.

When a deadline for the evacuation of an industrial property procedure expires on Saturday, the procedure in question may be validly effected on the first working day following that Saturday.

Additional provision fifth. Time limits for resolution of procedures.

The maximum time limits for the resolution of the procedures covered by this Law will be computed from the date of receipt in the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office of the respective applications, and will be as follows:

a) Concession of distinctive signs: twelve months if the application is not suspended and has no oppositions, and twenty months if any of the above circumstances are present.

b) Renewal of distinctive signs: eight months if no suspense occurs and twelve months otherwise.

(c) Enrollment of disposals, actual rights, contractual licenses and other changes in rights or of registered seats: six months if there is no suspense and eight months if this circumstance is present.

d) Rights Reset: six months.

e) Transforming international records:

five months if the application for conversion refers to an international trade mark already granted in Spain, and the one established for the procedure for the granting of national marks, otherwise.

(f) Transformation of Community trade marks: five months if the application for conversion concerns an already registered Community trade mark and that established for the procedure for the granting of national trade marks. In this case, the time limit shall be computed from the date on which the applicant complies with the requirements laid down in Article 86 (2) of this Law.

g) Any other industrial property proceeding which is not subject to a specific time limit of resolution: 20 months.

Additional provision sixth. "Official Industrial Property Bulletin".

1. The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office shall periodically publish the "Official Journal of Industrial Property" in which the applications, resolutions and notifications relating to the service and the procedures of the various arrangements for industrial property, in accordance with the provisions of their respective legislation.

2. The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office will make available to the public the "Official Journal of Industrial Property" in computer support that makes its reading possible.

Additional provision seventh. Application of the reestablishment of rights to other industrial property registers.

1. The rules contained in Article 25 of this Law shall apply, in all cases which are not incompatible with their nature, to patents, utility models, topographies of semiconductor products and models and drawings. Industrial and artistic.

2. In addition to the derogations provided for in Article 25 (5), the re-establishment of rights within the time limits referred to in Article 33 (1) and (2) and Article 39 (2) of Law 11/1986 of 20 May 1986 shall not apply either. March, Patent.

Additional disposition octave. Use of electronic means.

1. The Ministry of Science and Technology is empowered to determine, within two years, in collaboration with the Autonomous Communities that have assumed competence in the field, the cases in which communications and exchange of information documentation between the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, the competent bodies, where appropriate, of the Autonomous Communities and the users of their services may or, where appropriate, be presented or referred to in electronic support. The general conditions, requirements and technical characteristics of the communications and the various documents shall be fixed by resolution of the Director-General of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.

2. Once the general conditions, requirements and technical characteristics for the submission of applications on magnetic media or telematic means are established, the amount of the registration application fee shall be reduced by 15%, division of the application and renewal, in the case where the interested parties submit such applications on magnetic media or by telematic means.

Additional provision ninth. Communication of protected signs.

For the purposes of the thorough examination of the absolute prohibitions to be carried out by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, you must be informed of this Office:

(a) By the competent authority of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, designations of origin, protected geographical indications and designations of protected plant varieties.

(b) By the competent authority of the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs, the publication which, in compliance with the provisions of Article 15 (3) of Law 25/1990 of 20 December 1990, makes the list of Spanish official names of the substances authorised in Spain, as well as the publication carried out by the World Health Organisation of the international common names.

(c) By the competent bodies of the various public administrations, signs of public interest which, as provided for in Article 5.1 (k), must be protected.

Additional provision 10th. Contractual and budgetary arrangements for consultations with databases by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.

1. The consultations carried out by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office on national or foreign databases on technological development or, in general, on industrial property, will not require the conclusion of contracts in accordance with the terms laid down in the Treaty. Recast of the Law on Public Administrations Contracts, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 2/2000 of 16 June.

2. The use of these databases will require adequate and sufficient credit in the expenditure budget of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office. Payment to suppliers for the consultations carried out on such databases may be carried out by means of a payment file to be justified.

Additional provision eleventh. Provision of information services through telematics communication networks.

The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, in collaboration with the Autonomous Communities, will be able to make available through telematic communication networks free of charge the "Official Journal of Industrial Property". as information on the legal status of cases, on identities and similar between distinctive signs, on patents, utility models and industrial design, on the historical archive and, in general, on aspects related to the industrial property whose disclosure is deemed appropriate for reasons of technological information, dissemination of industrial property or other justified.

Additional disposition twelfth. Application of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and of the Common Administrative Procedure.

The administrative procedures for industrial property and, in particular, the procedures for registration, renewal and registration of transfers of rights and other registration acts shall be governed by their specific rules and, in the alternative, by the provisions of Law 30/1992, of 26 November, of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and of the Common Administrative Procedure.

Additional disposition thirteenth. Amendment of Law 17/1975 of 2 May on the creation of the autonomous body "Registration of Industrial Property".

1. Article 3 (1) of Law 17/1975 of 2 May 1975 on the establishment of the autonomous body 'Registry of Industrial Property' is amended to read as follows: ' 1. The President of the Agency. "2. Article 4. of Law 17/1975 of 2 May, on the establishment of the autonomous body" Registry of Industrial Property ", which is hereby amended as follows:

" Art. 4. No. 1. The President of the Agency shall be the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Association of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.

2. These are the powers of the President of the Agency:

a) Define the policy of the Agency and establish guidelines for its action.

b) Approve the management of the Director of the Agency.

c) Know the operation of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, by means of the reports that the Director periodically gives.

d) Approve the preliminary draft of the revenue and expenditure budget, as well as the annual settlement of the budget.

e) Approve the Agency's annual activity memory.

(f) Adopt, where appropriate, agreements on matters which, by their nature and importance, are subject to their knowledge. "

3. Article 5 of Law 17/1975 of 2 May on the establishment of the autonomous body "Registration of Industrial Property" is amended, which will be read as follows:

" Art. 5. 1. The Director of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office shall be the executor of the guidelines established by the President of the Agency and shall have the legal representation of the Agency and the effective powers of management and management of the services; shall be responsible for the supervision and supervision of all the agencies of the Agency; it shall resolve the matters relating to its jurisdiction and its decisions in the fields of industrial property of which it is competent shall terminate the administrative.

2. The appointment of the Director of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office shall be made by Royal Decree on the proposal of the Minister of the Agency's Department of Association. "

Additional disposition fourteenth. Prohibition on the granting of names of legal persons liable to cause confusion with a trademark or a trademark or a name.

Registration bodies competent for the granting or verification of names of legal persons shall refuse the name or social reason requested if they coincide or may cause confusion with a trade mark or name notices or renamed in the terms resulting from this Law, except authorization of the trademark holder or trade name.

Additional provision 15th. Cooperation of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office with International Organizations and Foreign Offices.

The training and cooperation activities carried out by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office in collaboration with International Organizations and those with foreign Industrial Property Offices or their employees as beneficiaries, which could be considered as aid or grants, they will not have to be preceded by the advertising and competition procedure.

Additional provision sixteenth. Domain Name Bill in the network.

The government, within the appropriate time and after the studies and consultations that are necessary, will send to the Congress of Deputies a bill on the names included in the domain in the country's first-level network. " Regulation shall be based, inter alia, on the criteria applied to distinctive signs protected by industrial property legislation.

Additional 17th disposition. Extinction of companies for violation of trademark law.

If the judgment for violation of the trademark law imposes the change of the social name and it will not be carried out within one year, the company will be dissolved in full right, proceeding the Commercial Registrar of trade to practice cancellation, and without prejudice to the provisions of Article 44 of this Law.

18th additional disposition. Draft Law on the names of legal persons.

The Government, within the appropriate time and after the studies and consultations necessary, will forward to the Congress of Deputies a bill on the regime of the social denominations of legal entities.

Additional 19th disposition. Draft law on designations of origin and protected geographical indications.

By the Government, within the appropriate time and after the studies and consultations that are necessary, a draft law on the designations of origin and geographical indications will be sent to the Congress of Deputies. (a) to replace the existing Law 25/1970 of 2 December of the Statute of the vineyard, wine and spirits.

First transient disposition. Transitional arrangements for procedures.

The procedures on trade marks, trade names and establishment signs initiated prior to the entry into force of this Law will be dealt with and resolved in accordance with the previous legislation.

Second transient disposition. Application of this Law to rights already registered.

1. Trade marks and trade names granted during the period of prior legislation shall be governed by this Law, except as provided in the following paragraphs.

2. Trademarks and trade names granted under the Industrial Property Statute which would not have been renewed for the duration of the Trade Marks Act of 1988 shall continue, in respect of their renewal and payment of five-year periods, the following rules:

(a) The first renewal which takes place after the entry into force of this Law shall be submitted within the six months preceding the end of the twenty years of its legal life and shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Article 32. This renewal shall be granted for 10 years from the date of submission of the initial application for registration. Subsequent renewals shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

(b) Until the first renewal after the entry into force of this Law, these trademarks and trade names shall be subject, under the penalty of revocation, to the payment of the corresponding five-year periods.

For these purposes, the date of expiry of the five-year period shall be the last day of the month in which each fifth anniversary of the date of granting of the registration is fulfilled, the corresponding payment shall be made within three months. prior to the due date or in the month after that date.

3. Trade marks and names not covered by the preceding paragraph, the grant of which would have been published or whose last renewal would have been applied for under the Law of Marks 1988, but before the entry into force of the Law 14/1999, of Fees and Public Prices for services provided by the Nuclear Security Council, shall be subject, until the first renewal they carry out after the entry into force of this Law, to the payment of the corresponding five-year periods, under Expiration penalty. For these purposes, the expiry date of the second five-year period shall be the last day of the month in which the fifth anniversary of the date of submission of the initial application for registration is fulfilled, the corresponding payment being made within the three months prior to the due date or in the month after that date.

4. The amount of the five-year periods referred to in the preceding paragraphs shall be as set out in tariff 1.11 of the Annex to this Law. After the deadline for payment of the corresponding five-year period, without having satisfied its amount, the same amount may be paid with a surcharge of 25% within the first three months and 50% within the following three months, up to a maximum of six months of delay.

Transitional provision third. Transitional arrangements for registered establishment labels.

1. Without prejudice to the provisions of this transitional provision, the signs of establishment, for the duration of their registration and in so far as it is not incompatible with their nature, shall be governed by the rules of this Law.

2. The establishment signs will temporarily continue their registration in accordance with the following:

(a) Within six months of the entry into force of this Law, the establishment signs in force may be renewed for a period of seven years from the entry into force of this Law. Law. This application for renewal shall be accompanied by the supporting evidence of 50% of the renewal fee provided for in tariff 1.8.a) of the Annex for a single class. Where the renewal of the establishment label comprises only municipalities located in a single Autonomous Community, the application for renewal shall be submitted to the competent bodies of that Community, to which its resolution and the relevant registration, without prejudice to the timely communication to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, within five days, both of the submission of the renewal application and of the decision taken, for the purposes of its log record. The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office shall, upon request of the competent regional authorities, transmit copies of these establishment signs. The fees to be paid for the renewal of these labels shall be levied by the competent Autonomous Communities and shall be paid in the manner in which they are provided.

(b) establishment signs which have not been renewed in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph or those granted after the entry into force of this Law, by virtue of the provisions laid down in this Law; the first transitional provision shall continue its existence until the end of the period of ten or twenty years for which it has been granted or renewed for the last time. The signs of establishment covered by this point, which are subject to the payment of five-year periods, shall be paid, subject to the expiry of the period laid down in paragraph 2 (b) or in paragraph 3 of the transitional provision. second, according to the legislation under which they would have been granted or renewed for the last time.

Paragraph 4 of the said transitional provision shall also apply.

After the period of validity of the registration provided for in the preceding letters, the registration of the establishment signs will be definitively cancelled, and will be protected by the common rules of unfair competition, in accordance with Articles 6 and 12 of Law 3/1991 of 10 January 1991 on Unfair Competition and the provisions of the following transitional provision.

3. For the duration of the registration of the establishment signs:

(a) Signs that are identical to a previous establishment sign or registered to designate the same activities as the products, services or services may not be registered as trademarks or trade names; activities for which the trademark or trade name is requested. For these purposes, the holder of the title of establishment may object to the registration of such signs in accordance with Article 19 or to request the invalidity of such signs if they have been registered in contravention of the provisions of this Article. paragraph.

(b) A declaration of invalidity or revocation of an establishment sign may be declared in the form and for the same reasons provided for the marks. A declaration of invalidity may also be declared if it has been registered in spite of not being sufficiently distinguished from a trade mark, trade name or sign of establishment, in this case, for the same municipal term, which are earlier and for products, identical or similar services or activities.

Transitional disposition fourth. Extra-registration protection of the establishment labels definitely cancelled.

1. The holder or cause of a sign of establishment which has been definitively cancelled pursuant to the last subparagraph of paragraph 2 of the third transitional provision may oppose the use of a trade mark or name. commercial in the municipality for which it has been registered, if such distinctive signs were later and incompatible with that sign in the terms laid down in paragraph 3 (a) of the provision transient third.

2. Paragraph 1 shall cease to apply if the holder of the title of establishment has, having knowledge of it, tolerated the use of the trade mark or trade name in the municipal term in which the label has protection for five years. consecutive, unless the request for these distinctive signs had been made in bad faith.

3. Holders of registered trade marks or trade names may not subsequently object to the use of the establishment signs referred to in paragraph 1, even if they, by application of the preceding paragraph, are no longer alleged to be against such subsequent trade marks or trade names.

4. The rights granted in this transitional provision shall be extinguished within 20 years of the cancellation of the registration as provided for in the last subparagraph of paragraph 2 of the third transitional provision, or if the The establishment shall cease to be used for an uninterrupted period of three years.

Transient disposition fifth. Start of the registration activities of the competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities.

The Autonomous Communities that have been assigned the responsibility for the implementation of the legislation of industrial property, after coordination with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, will publish in their Official Bulletins the date from which the competent organ of the same will begin to operate in order to receive and examine the applications in accordance with the provisions of this Law. Until the entry into operation of these organs, the registered functions which they have attributed to them will be executed by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office.

Transitional disposition sixth. Classification of trade names.

1. In the first renewal after the entry into force of this Law, the commercial names granted under the previous legislation will be classified according to the provisions of Article 89 of this Law.

2. The renewal applicant shall submit his proposal for a classification without modifying the wording of the list of activities, even if he may reorder them or give up those he deems appropriate. If the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office does not consider the classification to be correct, it shall propose to the person concerned a new classification so that, within the time limit which it is determined to determine, it shall decide on the classification. After this period, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, whether or not you have replied, will decide.

3. For this first renewal, the renewal fee provided for in tariff 1.8.a) of the Annex shall be paid for a single class. Subsequent renewals shall be subject to the payment of the renewal fee as appropriate, depending on the number of classes covered by the renewal application.

Transitional disposition seventh. Merging records.

At the request of the interested party in the first renewal after the entry into force of this Law, the marks granted for different classes under the previous legislation may be unified in a single register, always the identity of the holder, sign and date of filing, and the corresponding supplementary renewal application fees are paid. The merger procedure will be determined.

Transient disposition octave. Expiry for non-payment of five-year periods.

Article 56 of this Law shall apply to trade marks, trade names, and establishment signs where the expiration of such marks is to be declared for the absence of payment of the five-year maintenance periods.

Single repeal provision.

1. All rules of equal or lower rank are repealed in that they contradict or oppose the provisions of this Law.

2. The following provisions are expressly repealed:

(a) Law 32/1988 of 10 November of Marks.

b) of the Statute on Industrial Property, approved by Royal Decree-Law of 26 July 1929, recast text approved by Royal Order of 30 April 1930 and ratified with force of Law by the Law of 16 September 1931, the Chapter II of Title XI, as regards trade marks, trade names and signs of establishment.

(c) Act 17/1975 of 2 May 1975 on the establishment of the autonomous body 'Registry of Industrial Property', Article 11 (4) as regards trade marks, trade names and signs of establishment and the letter (b) in the second subparagraph of Article 11 (5

.

d) The second article of Royal Decree-Law 8/1998 of 31 July of urgent measures in the field of industrial property.

(e) Of Law 14/1999 of 4 May, of Public Fees and Prices for services provided by the Nuclear Security Council, the additional sixth and seventh provisions and the second transitional provision.

Final disposition first. Competence title.

This Law is dictated by the State competition in the field of legislation on industrial property, as provided for in Article 149.1. 9. º of the Constitution.

Final disposition second. Development of the Law.

The Council of Ministers is hereby authorised to dictate how many implementing and implementing provisions of this Law are necessary.

Final disposition third. Entry into force.

This Law shall enter into force on 31 July 2002, except as provided for in Title V, Article 85, third, fourth, eighth, tenth, eleventh, thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth provisions to enter into force on 31 July 2002. The day following its publication in the "Official State Gazette".

Therefore, I command all Spaniards, individuals and authorities, to keep and keep this Law.

Madrid, 7 December 2001.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The President of the Government,

JOSÉ MARÍA AZNAR LÓPEZ

ANNEX

The fees provided for in the second provision are as follows:

FIRST RATE

Acquisition, Defense, and Rights Maintenance

1.1 Record Request Rate:

a) A trademark or trade name. For each class requested: 134.39 euros (22,360 pesetas).

b) A warranty or collective mark. For each class requested: 268.77 euros (44.720 pesetas).

c) From an international record (national rate):

36.06 euros (6,000 pesetas).

d) For a Community trade mark (reception and transmission rate): EUR 24.04 (000 pesetas).

1.2 Division Rate. For each resulting divisional application or registration: 51,09 euros (8,500 pesetas).

1.3 Rights reset rate: 89.01 euros (14.810 pesetas).

1.4 Rate of applications that do not have a specific fee: 44.50 euros (7.405 pesetas).

1.5 For each foreign or exposure priority claimed: EUR 19,05 (pesetas 3.170).

1.6 Amendments: for the modification of the class, modality, distinctive, list of products or services, of the regulations of use or, in general, for any modification of the file authorized by the Law, either of the application or the registration of the mark, whether it is carried out in a spontaneous manner or as a result of a suspended suspension of its own motion: EUR 21.55 (pesetas 3,585).

1.7 Oppositions: By Opposition formulation:

38.56 euros (6,410 pesetas).

1.8 Record refresh rates:

a) A trademark or trade name. For each class renewed: 155.60 euros (25,890 pesetas).

b) A warranty or collective mark. For each class renewed: 312.53 euros (52,000 pesetas).

1.9 Demoras: for delays in payment of successive renewal and five-year fees (transitional arrangements), the surcharges will be 25 per 100, within the first three months, and 50 per 100, within the following three months, up to the maximum of six months of delay.

1.10 Resources and review of administrative acts:

by submitting a review request or resource:

89.01 euros (14.810 pesetas).

1.11 Quinquenies successive (transient regime):

69.54 euros (11,570 pesetas).

RATE SECOND

Enrollment of assignment of rights and other modifications

2.1 By the registration or cancellation of changes in ownership, licenses, real rights, purchase options or other obstacles or precautionary or enforcement measures. For each record concerned: EUR 28,24 (pesetas 4,698) [up to a maximum of EUR 6,010,12 (pesetas 1,000,000)].

2.2 By the registration of the change of the name of the holder or of the name and/or the address of the representative, and by the registration of a new representative or of a general proxy. For each registered record 14,12 euros (2,350 pesetas) [up to a maximum of 2,404.05 euros (400,000 pesetas)].

THIRD RATE

Other Services

3.1 Certifications: 14.27 euros (2.375 pesetas).

3.2 Query and view of a file: 3.01 euros (500 pesetas).

3.3 Copy of the documents in the file: 9.62 euros (1,600 pesetas) plus a supplement for each page that exceeds 10 of 0.96 euros (160 pesetas).

FOURTH RATE

Publications

4.1 By publication in the "Official Journal of Industrial Property", at the request of the appellant, of the announcement of the interposition of a judicial-administrative appeal in respect of distinctive signs: EUR 120.20 (20,000 pesetas).

4.2 By the publication in the "Official Journal of Industrial Property" at the request of a party, of the ruling of a judicial-administrative appeal on distinctive signs: 120.20 euros (20,000 pesetas).