In the current issue 2\/2025 of \u201cGRUR-Prax – Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht \/ Praxis im Immaterialg\u00fcter- und Wettbewerbsrecht\u201d (Intellectual Property and Copyright Law \/ Practice in Intellectual Property and Competition Law), BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT partner and attorney at law Dr. Rudolf B\u00f6ckenholt explains a decision of the General Court of 20 November 2024 on a procedural problem in opposition proceedings at the EUIPO.
\nThe court states that the ground stated in the opposition and the area of protection of the earlier right can no longer be changed at a later date – after expiry of the opposition period – which also means that no narrowing can take place.<\/p>\n
In the specific case, the opponent had designated the earlier non-registered trademark right with the EUIPO protection area, which the court interpreted as a reference to the entire EU. The reasoning only refers to use in a few EU member states.<\/p>\n
The court considers this to be inadmissible overall. It is crucial to specify precisely and conclusively the territories and property rights when filing an opposition. Following a change, the EUIPO’s online portal, which can be used to file oppositions, no longer provides for the previous selection option \u201cEUIPO\u201d, but only the individual EU member states within the framework of Art. 8 (3) EUTMR. Any misunderstandings that may have been the cause of this are therefore no longer possible.<\/p>\n