Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (repealed)Show full title

SECTION 4 U.K. Representation

Article 92 U.K. General principles of representation

1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2, no person shall be compelled to be represented before the Office.

[F1 2. Without prejudice to the second sentence of paragraph 3 of this Article, natural or legal persons having neither their domicile nor their principal place of business or a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in the European Economic Area shall be represented before the Office in accordance with Article 93(1) in all proceedings provided for by this Regulation, other than the filing of an application for an EU trade mark.

3. Natural or legal persons having their domicile or principal place of business or a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in the European Economic Area may be represented before the Office by an employee. An employee of a legal person to which this paragraph applies may also represent other legal persons which have economic connections with the first legal person, even if those other legal persons have neither their domicile nor their principal place of business nor a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment within the European Economic Area. Employees who represent persons, within the meaning of this paragraph, shall, at the request of the Office or, where appropriate, of the party to the proceedings, file with it a signed authorisation for insertion in the files.

4. Where there is more than one applicant or more than one third party acting in common, a common representative shall be appointed.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Regulation (EU) 2015/2424 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2015 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 on the Community trade mark and Commission Regulation (EC) No 2868/95 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 40/94 on the Community trade mark, and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 2869/95 on the fees payable to the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 93 U.K. Professional representatives

[F1 1. Representation of natural or legal persons before the Office may only be undertaken by:

(a) a legal practitioner qualified in one of the Member States of the European Economic Area and having his place of business within the European Economic Area, to the extent that he is entitled, within the said Member State, to act as a representative in trade mark matters;

(b) professional representatives whose names appear on the list maintained for this purpose by the Office.

Representatives acting before the Office shall, at the request of the Office or, where appropriate, of the other party to the proceedings, file with it a signed authorisation for insertion on the files.

2. Any natural person who fulfils the following conditions may be entered on the list of professional representatives:

(a) being a national of one of the Member States of the European Economic Area;

(b) having his place of business or employment in the European Economic Area;

(c) being entitled to represent natural or legal persons in trade mark matters before the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property or before the central industrial property office of a Member State of the European Economic Area. Where, in the State concerned, the entitlement is not conditional upon the requirement of special professional qualifications, persons applying to be entered on the list who act in trade mark matters before the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property or those central industrial property offices shall have habitually so acted for at least five years. However, persons whose professional qualification to represent natural or legal persons in trade mark matters before the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property or those central industrial property offices is officially recognised in accordance with the regulations laid down by the State concerned shall not be required to have exercised the profession.]

3. Entry shall be effected upon request, accompanied by a certificate furnished by the central industrial property office of the Member State concerned, which must indicate that the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 are fulfilled.

[F1 4. The Executive Director may grant an exemption from:

(a) the requirement in the second sentence of paragraph 2(c), if the applicant furnishes proof that he has acquired the requisite qualification in another way;

(b) the requirement set out in paragraph 2(a) in the case of highly qualified professionals, provided that the requirements set out in paragraphs 2(b) and (c) are fulfilled.

5. A person may be removed from the list of professional representatives at his request or when no longer in a capacity to represent. The amendments of the list of professional representatives shall be published in the Official Journal of the Office.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Regulation (EU) 2015/2424 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2015 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 on the Community trade mark and Commission Regulation (EC) No 2868/95 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 40/94 on the Community trade mark, and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 2869/95 on the fees payable to the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (Text with EEA relevance).

[F2 Article 93a U.K. Delegation of powers

The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 163a specifying:

(a)

the conditions and the procedure for the appointment of a common representative as referred to in Article 92(4);

(b)

the conditions under which employees referred to in Article 92(3) and professional representatives referred to in Article 93(1) shall file with the Office a signed authorisation in order to undertake representation, and the content of that authorisation;

(c)

the circumstances in which a person may be removed from the list of professional representatives referred to in Article 93(5).]

Textual Amendments

F2 Inserted by Regulation (EU) 2015/2424 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2015 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 on the Community trade mark and Commission Regulation (EC) No 2868/95 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 40/94 on the Community trade mark, and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 2869/95 on the fees payable to the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (Text with EEA relevance).