Cooperation between OEPM and the OHIM

Cooperation between the OEPM and the Office for Harmonization of the Internal Market (OHIM) for 2012 includes the following projects: Agreement for Technical Cooperation, the Cooperation Fund, the Convergence Programme and TM-View.

OEPM Agreement for Technical Cooperation
The Agreement for Technical Cooperation between the OEPM and the OHIM dates back to 2006. Since then, it has been renewed every year and has covered activities for promotion, information, dissemination and advice on community trademarks and design.

Cooperation Fund
The Cooperation Fund was designed to promote the harmonisation and modernisation of national Industrial Property offices and to assist users of the community trademark and design system. OEPM experts are participating in 12 of the 18 working groups. These include one on electronic learning to provide a platform for computer-based training, one on the creation of a common portal for applications and one for the development of a multi-module data base (trademarks, drawings, models and holders) to facilitate the exercise of industrial property rights.

Convergence Programme
The Convergence Programme aims to create a common framework in a number of areas in which the EU Industrial Property offices have different practices such as the protection of trademarks in black and white, relative reasons for refusal (possible confusion) or absolute reasons for refusal (figurative trademarks). Working groups involving the participation of OEPM experts have been created to deal with these matters. This Programme complements the work on common IT tools being carried out in the framework of the Cooperation Fund.

TMview
TMview is a computer tool that allows users to view free of charge the trademarks of all participating offices, including the OEPM, both national, international and EU. TMview aims to be a platform for the data of the 27 EU Member States and for information from the OHIM and WIPO.

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