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The Trade Marks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union
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The purpose of these Guidelines is to indicate the practice of the Office with regard to the Regulation on the Community trade mark. They have been drafted with a view to practical use both by the Office personnel in charge of the various procedures and the professionals concerned therewith.
They have been drawn up to cover the majority of current cases, and consequently can be regarded only as general instructions. These Guidelines are not, therefore, legislative texts. The parties, and the Office, must where necessary refer to Regulation No 40/94 on the Community trade mark, the Regulation implementing that Regulation, the Regulation on fees and the Regulation for proceedings before the Boards of Appeal and, finally, the interpretation of these texts handed down by the Boards of Appeal and the Court of Justice of the European Communities, including the Court of First Instance of the European Communities. Guidelines concerning proceedings before the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs):