LAW no. 84/1998 ON TRADEMARKS AND GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS, as republished Published in the OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF ROMANIA, No 856 of 18 September 2020
Rights in trademarks and geographical indications shall be recognized
and protected on the territory of Romania in accordance with the
provisions of this Law
The present Law shall be applicable to trademarks in respect of goods
and services, as individual trademarks, collective marks or certification
marks, which are the subject of registration or of an application for
registration in Romania, as a consequence of European protection or
by international route, as well as to geographical indications.
Foreign natural persons or legal entities having their residence or
place of business outside the territory of Romania shall also enjoy the
provisions of this Law, in accordance with the international
conventions on trademarks and geographical indications to which
Romania is a party. READ MORE..
New Law on Trademarks and Geographical Indications entered into Force in Romania
The Law 66/2010 amending the current Romanian Law on Trademarks and Geographical Indications
entered into force in Romania on May 09, 2010. The new law introduces important changes in
terminology, improved registration procedure for national applications, and it ensures the
existence of a legal framework for the prosecution of European Union community trademarks.
The most important amendment to the current law is the waiver of the examination on relative
grounds, leaving it to the interested parties to file an opposition. Interested parties can
submit observations on absolute grounds and formulate opposition on relative grounds within
two months from the publication in the online database of Romania�s Patent and Trademark Office
(PTO). While the old Trademark Law provides a three-month term within which an applicant may
respond to an opposition, under the new law, an applicant will have only 30 days to reply to
the opposition notice.
The new legal provisions broaden the category of signs that can be registered as trademarks by
introducing "holograms" and "sound marks."
The new law also incorporates relevant EU provisions that were previously not included in the
national legislation; namely, it includes the Directive 2008/95/EC. Thus, a national application
will be rejected if it is identical or similar to a prior community registration, even if it is
filed for the goods and services that are different from the goods and services of the prior mark.
A community registration can be converted into a national one upon the payment of examination fees
for national applications.