Customers identify by the brand name not only the product or service but also its good quality and standard and, moreover, often the distributing company itself. Therefore, the brand name in itself might represent a substantial market value which should be reckoned on and which should be protected well before introduction of the product. Namely, a brand name of a specific product may be protected not only when it is already distributed but also before it appears on the market.
Protection of a logo and brand name means no more than obtaining trademark protection for a figure and/or description. The logo or brand name protected is considered a trademark while the protection exists. However, trademark protection might be granted not only to logos and brand names.
A trademark may consist of a word, combination of words (including e.g. personal names, company names and slogans), letters, numerals, graphics, a colour, a combination of colours, a sound or a light signal, a hologram, flat or three-dimensional figures, including the shape of the goods or packaging; as well as a combination thereof provided that such can be graphically represented and is suitable for distinction. Furthermore, registration of a trademark is subject to the lack of either an absolute ground for refusal (e.g. it is generally used to mark goods) or a relative ground for refusal (e.g. an identical or confusingly similar trademark has already been granted protection in favour of another person) in respect of it.
On the basis of trademark protection the proprietor of the trademark is granted the exclusive right to use or to surrender the use of the trademark. The latter right is granted, typically, on the basis of a contract of use (trademark licence contract) granted by which the proprietor of the trademark against payment a fee for such use.
Applications for protection of a brand name or for obtaining other trademark protection shall be submitted electronically to the Hungarian Patent office. Before applying for a new trademark, it is recommended to carry out “trademark filtering” to avoid refusal of the application because it is not similar or identical to any trademark already existing (registered).
Trademark protection commences from the date of registration, and is effective retroactively to the date of filing for registration. Trademark protection shall be valid for a period of ten years from the date of filing for registration and may be renewed for further periods of ten years. Geographic scope of protection covers the territory of the relevant country if protection is applied for on national level but, according to the Madrid Agreement, an international or EU trademark application may also be filed.
In the event of trademark infringement, the trademark proprietor may bring an action before a court and may demand
a) a court ruling establishing that trademark infringement has occurred;
b)cessation of the trademark infringement and inhibition of the infringing party from further infringement of the right;
c) that the infringing party provide information on parties taking part in the manufacture of and trade in goods or performance of services which infringe on the trademark, as well as on business relationships developed for the use of the infringing party;
d) that the infringing party provide satisfaction in a statement or in another appropriate manner, and, if necessary, that such satisfaction be given appropriate publicity by the infringing party or at its expense;
e) restitution of the economic gains achieved through infringement of the trademark;
f) seizure of those assets and materials used exclusively or primarily in the infringement of the trademark, as well as of the goods infringing on the trademark or their packaging.
In the event of trademark infringement the trademark proprietor may claim compensation for damages in accordance with the provisions of civil liability.
If you have any questions relating to intellectual property rights, you may contact us also via our online consultancy column.
