The State Office of Industrial Property of the Republic of North Macedonia (SOIP) has published a practice paper on the scope of protection of black and white marks, addressing different handlings of trademarks in black and white and/or greyscale as regards priority, relative grounds and genuine use.
The publication of this practice paper is the outcome of the combined effort of the SOIP and the EUIPO on finding common grounds with the criteria listed under the Common Communication on the Common Practice of the Scope of Protection of Black and White Marks (CP4). The principles of the practice will be generally applied, and aim to cover a large majority of cases.
This document, developed within the framework of these entities’ international cooperation activities, aims to increase clarity, transparency, legal certainty and predictability for the benefit of users and examiners of the IP Offices. It also intends to be a reference for these and all other interested parties.
The practice paper provides a clear and comprehensive explanation of the principles on which the practice is based. It will be generally applied by the SOIP and the IP offices of the European Union Intellectual Property Network (EUIPN).
The Practice Paper has been published for reference to interested stakeholders in advance of the implementation of the principles of the practices by SOIP, which will effectively take place on 1 October 2022.
The practice paper can be found HERE.
The document is divided into two parts. The first summarises the key messages and statements of the practice principles. The second provides a clear and comprehensive explanation of these principles.
The SOIP also published the following practice paper to add clarity to examination practices, available in Macedonian, Albanian and English:
- CP3 – Distinctiveness - Figurative Marks containing descriptive / non-distinctive words (EN).