You are here: Home > About OHIM > OAMI-ONLINE - Newsletter 10 - 2010 - Editorial

October 2010

OHIM Cooperation Fund moves forward

The €50m OHIM Cooperation Fund, set up to help reduce differences in practice in trade marks and designs, modernise national offices and make things easier for users, has taken another important step forward with seven new projects getting the go-ahead.

The projects range from the creation of a senority database to tools for examiners and an e-learning platform. EU national offices will now be called upon to sign up for these projects, which will form the basis of the Cooperation Fund annual work plan for 2011, with working groups composed of OHIM and national offices representatives meeting from January onwards to deliver concrete results.

Work is already under way on the development of common software architecture to make sure that all the new tools being developed are able to “talk to each other”. The latest projects to be approved for start are:

  • Search image: Covering the creation of an image search functionality that could later be integrated into TMView, DesignView or other software.
     
  • Seniority: Aiming to support national offices in including details of seniority claims in their databases.
     
  • Quality Standard: Meeting the request of several offices to enhance work on quality certification of processes and systems, initially by achieving agreement on a Common Service Charter.
     
  • DesignView: Applying the principles of TMView to designs.
     
  • Similarity of Goods and Services: Creating a searchable database with the aim of harmonise methods for assessing the similarity of Goods and Services.
     
  • Common Examiner Support Tool (CESTO): Assisting examiners in making consistent, more predictable decisions which take account of all appropriate sources of information.
     
  • E-learning: providing a platform for electronic training on CTM and RCD matters, as well as national registration systems.

In all, the Fund is expected to support 23 projects under four different fields:

  • Harmonisation projects such as TMview, the common classification database for goods and services, and the seniority database.
  • A suggested list of software packages (e-filing, e-opposition, e-cancellation, e-renewal and e-payment) to support national offices in providing easier access to trade mark and design protection.
  • Information services comprising communication and training initiatives to help companies to better understand the CTM and RCD systems.
  • Activities to facilitate the enforcement of trade mark and design rights, helping the work of judges, customs and other relevant authorities.

Ongoing projects such as the TMview and EuroClass databases are expected to make important advances over the next twelve months and around half of the fund is being devoted to the development of new software packages, intended to significantly improve and ease the accessibility to services offered by national offices.

Many of the other projects will make an important contribution to better communication, or assisting national authorities and enforcement agencies, for example, by providing leading edge search facilities to help them identify infringing goods.

To date, national offices and user associations have been involved at both the project and programme levels. At the project level, project managers have been openly discussing planned content and sharing documents. At the programme level, widespread and positive consultation has taken place with both national offices and user associations.

Further details of projects, and updates on progress are available on the OHIM Cooperation Fund page on the website.