signs which cannot constitute a trade mark;

trade marks which are devoid of any distinctive character;

trade marks which consist exclusively of signs or indications which may serve, in trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin, or the time of production of the goods or of rendering of the service, or other characteristics of the goods or services;

trade marks which consist exclusively of signs or indications which have become customary in the current language or in the bona fide and established practices of the trade;

signs which consist exclusively of:

1. (i)

   the shape which results from the nature of the goods themselves;

2. (ii)

   the shape of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result;

3. (iii)

   the shape which gives substantial value to the goods;

trade marks which are contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality;

trade marks which are of such a nature as to deceive the public, for instance as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of the goods or service;

trade marks which have not been authorised by the competent authorities and are to be refused or invalidated pursuant to Article 6 ter of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Paris Convention’.

the use of that trade mark may be prohibited pursuant to provisions of law other than trade mark law of the Member State concerned or of the Community;

the trade mark covers a sign of high symbolic value, in particular a religious symbol;

the trade mark includes badges, emblems and escutcheons other than those covered by Article 6 ter of the Paris Convention and which are of public interest, unless the consent of the competent authority to their registration has been given in conformity with the legislation of the Member State;

the application for registration of the trade mark was made in bad faith by the applicant.

if it is identical with an earlier trade mark, and the goods or services for which the trade mark is applied for or is registered are identical with the goods or services for which the earlier trade mark is protected;

if because of its identity with, or similarity to, the earlier trade mark and the identity or similarity of the goods or services covered by the trade marks, there exists a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public; the likelihood of confusion includes the likelihood of association with the earlier trade mark.

trade marks of the following kinds with a date of application for registration which is earlier than the date of application for registration of the trade mark, taking account, where appropriate, of the priorities claimed in respect of those trade marks;

1. (i)

   Community trade marks;

2. (ii)

   trade marks registered in the Member State or, in the case of Belgium, Luxembourg or the Netherlands, at the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property;

3. (iii)

   trade marks registered under international arrangements which have effect in the Member State;

Community trade marks which validly claim seniority, in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 40/945 of 20 December 1993 on the Community trade mark, from a trade mark referred to in (a)(ii) and (iii), even when the latter trade mark has been surrendered or allowed to lapse;

applications for the trade marks referred to in points (a) and (b), subject to their registration;

trade marks which, on the date of application for registration of the trade mark, or, where appropriate, of the priority claimed in respect of the application for registration of the trade mark, are well known in a Member State, in the sense in which the words ‘well known’ are used in Article 6 bis of the Paris Convention.

the trade mark is identical with, or similar to, an earlier national trade mark within the meaning of paragraph 2 and is to be, or has been, registered for goods or services which are not similar to those for which the earlier trade mark is registered, where the earlier trade mark has a reputation in the Member State concerned and where the use of the later trade mark without due cause would take unfair advantage of, or be detrimental to, the distinctive character or the repute of the earlier trade mark;

rights to a non-registered trade mark or to another sign used in the course of trade were acquired prior to the date of application for registration of the subsequent trade mark, or the date of the priority claimed for the application for registration of the subsequent trade mark, and that non-registered trade mark or other sign confers on its proprietor the right to prohibit the use of a subsequent trade mark;

the use of the trade mark may be prohibited by virtue of an earlier right other than the rights referred to in paragraph 2 and point (b) of this paragraph and in particular:

1. (i)

   a right to a name;

2. (ii)

   a right of personal portrayal;

3. (iii)

   a copyright;

4. (iv)

   an industrial property right;

the trade mark is identical with, or similar to, an earlier collective trade mark conferring a right which expired within a period of a maximum of three years preceding application;

the trade mark is identical with, or similar to, an earlier guarantee or certification mark conferring a right which expired within a period preceding application the length of which is fixed by the Member State;

the trade mark is identical with, or similar to, an earlier trade mark which was registered for identical or similar goods or services and conferred on them a right which has expired for failure to renew within a period of a maximum of two years preceding application, unless the proprietor of the earlier trade mark gave his agreement for the registration of the later mark or did not use his trade mark;

the trade mark is liable to be confused with a mark which was in use abroad on the filing date of the application and which is still in use there, provided that at the date of the application the applicant was acting in bad faith.

any sign which is identical with the trade mark in relation to goods or services which are identical with those for which the trade mark is registered;

any sign where, because of its identity with, or similarity to, the trade mark and the identity or similarity of the goods or services covered by the trade mark and the sign, there exists a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public; the likelihood of confusion includes the likelihood of association between the sign and the trade mark.

affixing the sign to the goods or to the packaging thereof;

offering the goods, or putting them on the market or stocking them for these purposes under that sign, or offering or supplying services thereunder;

importing or exporting the goods under the sign;

using the sign on business papers and in advertising.

his own name or address;

indications concerning the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin, the time of production of goods or of rendering of the service, or other characteristics of goods or services;

the trade mark where it is necessary to indicate the intended purpose of a product or service, in particular as accessories or spare parts;

its duration;

the form covered by the registration in which the trade mark may be used;

the scope of the goods or services for which the licence is granted;

the territory in which the trade mark may be affixed; or

the quality of the goods manufactured or of the services provided by the licensee.

use of the trade mark in a form differing in elements which do not alter the distinctive character of the mark in the form in which it was registered;

affixing of the trade mark to goods or to the packaging thereof in the Member State concerned solely for export purposes.

where a provision in force prior to that date attached sanctions to non-use of a trade mark during an uninterrupted period, the relevant period of five years mentioned in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall be deemed to have begun to run at the same time as any period of non-use which is already running at that date;

where there was no use provision in force prior to that date, the periods of five years mentioned in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall be deemed to run from that date at the earliest.

in consequence of acts or inactivity of the proprietor, it has become the common name in the trade for a product or service in respect of which it is registered;

in consequence of the use made of it by the proprietor of the trade mark or with his consent in respect of the goods or services for which it is registered, it is liable to mislead the public, particularly as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of those goods or services.