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FROM 1992, firms around the world will have the chance to file a single
trademark application covering the whole European Community. This move necessitates
a new Community Trade Marks Office (CTMO), and Iain Mills, the Conservative
MP for Meriden, is leading the fight to make Britain the site for the new
office.

Mills argues that although Britain is one of the largest contributors
to the Community budget, it still has no Community institution whatsoever.
‘Locating the CTMO in London would not therefore be merely a sign of Britain’s
commitment to Europe,’ says Mills, ‘but of Europe’s to Britain.’

West Germany won the contest to become the home of the European Patent
Office, even though the majority of patent applications filed at the EPO
from around the world are in the English language. Now Britain’s Chartered
Institute of Patent Agents is taking a tough and pragmatic line over the
siting of the CTMO. ‘The decision on location is a political one,’ says
Anthony Smith, President of the CIPA. ‘It is not going to depend on the
arguments themselves but on the vigour of the debate and the weight of the
»å±ð²ú²¹³Ù±ð°ù²õ.’

At present there are 10 different national trademark laws and regimes
working throughout the European Community. A single community-wide trademark
will make life much easier for companies with brand-named drugs, equipment
or services. A single registration will also help Customs officers block
counterfeit merchandise at the point of entry into the EEC.

Four cities are now vying for the CTMO: London, Madrid, The Hague and
Munich, site of the EPO. Britain is pushing a site in London’s Docklands,
although its case is not helped by the decision by the Department of Trade
and Industry to move the Patent Office to Wales, separating sites of similar
business. ‘Act now if you want the CTMO in London,’ says Smith. ‘Do not
complain if you leave it to others and the decision is made to put the office
±ð±ô²õ±ð·É³ó±ð°ù±ð.’