MARQUES European Association of Trade Mark Owners
MARQUES
MARQUES is the European association representing the interest of brand owners.
ID: 97131823590-44
Lobbying Activity
Response to EU Design Delegated Regulation
26 Nov 2025
MARQUES, European Association of Trade Mark Owners, wishes to provide its comments in relation to the Draft EU Design Delegated Regulation Ares (2025)9223952, laying down rules specifying the details of certain EU design-related procedures managed by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) per reflected in the attached paper. On behalf of MARQUES European Association of Trade Mark Owners By Alessandra Romeo, MARQUES External Relations Officer, also for the contributors of the MARQUES Designs Team
Read full responseResponse to EU Design Implementing Regulation
30 Jul 2025
MARQUES, the European Association of Trade Mark Owners, a registered interest representative organisation in the Transparency Register (ID 97131823590-44), would like to thank the European Commission for the opportunity to provide feedback on its consultation on the Draft Implementing Regulation that shall replace the existing Commission Implementing Regulation (EC) No 2245/2002. MARQUES comments are attached.
Read full response23 Apr 2025
MARQUES, the European Association of Trade Mark Owners, wishes to submit its comments in relation to the Draft Act on the Detailed rules for the implementation of Regulation 2023/2411 on geographical indications for craft and industrial products, per stated in the attached document.
Read full responseResponse to Review of the Community Designs Regulation
31 Jan 2023
MARQUES is the European Association representing the interest of brand owners in Europe and beyond. MARQUES has been involved in the debate on the reform of the European Union Design legislation since its inception, as ensued after the publication of the Legal Review on Industrial Designs Protection in Europe (the Review] in the year 2016. In the interest of designers and design right holders, MARQUES has advocated that the overall goals of the EU design law recast should be directed toward advancing a streamlined system of design protection at national, regional in the European Union - and international levels. MARQUES believes that design applicants should have full choice in that regard. A sound design protection system within Europe should be aimed at facilitating design owners in making their choice, by offering simplified and efficient procedures for design protection in a harmonised legal environment, which can ensure complementarity with the national design systems. For these reasons, MARQUES welcomed the adoption by the Commission of the two package proposals to modernise the legislation on design protection at the end of November last year. As the European Commission launched a public consultation on the draft legislative texts of the revised Design Law Directive and Regulation, MARQUES and the sister organisations ECTA and INTA have furthered their cooperation. ECTA, INTA and MARQUES are the signatories of the attached joint contribution. Our input builds upon the recommendations provided to the European Commission over the past years, in particular, our Joint Paper on Legal Review of EU Designs System, submitted in July 2018, and Joint Comments on the European Commissions Inception Impact Assessment on the review of the Design Directive and Community Design Regulation submitted in January 2021. As an overarching remark, we would like to welcome the efforts of the European Commission in attempting to achieve greater harmonisation in the area of industrial designs and taking on board some of the proposals and recommendations presented in our earlier joint statements. In this round of consultations, the signatories ECTA, INTA and MARQUES would like to draw the attention of the European Commission to a few specific areas/points that we have identified when studying the draft documents (Directive, Regulation and Implementing Regulation) and which we deem important to address. We thank the European Commission for the opportunity to provide our further comments and trust that they will be duly considered. Naturally, we remain available for any necessary follow-up. Respectfully submitted on behalf of MARQUES, the European Association of Trade Mark Owners Alessandra Romeo, MARQUES External Relations Officer, also for the contributors of MARQUES Designs Team
Read full responseResponse to Review of the Designs Directive
31 Jan 2023
MARQUES is the European Association representing the interest of brand owners in Europe and beyond. MARQUES has been involved in the debate on the reform of the European Union Design legislation since its inception, as ensued after the publication of the Legal Review on Industrial Designs Protection in Europe (the Review] in the year 2016. In the interest of designers and design right holders, MARQUES has advocated that the overall goals of the EU design law recast should be directed toward advancing a streamlined system of design protection at national, regional in the European Union - and international levels. MARQUES believes that design applicants should have full choice in that regard. A sound design protection system within Europe should be aimed at facilitating design owners in making their choice, by offering simplified and efficient procedures for design protection in a harmonised legal environment, which can ensure complementarity with the national design systems. For these reasons, MARQUES welcomed the adoption by the Commission of the two package proposals to modernise the legislation on design protection at the end of November last year. As the European Commission launched a public consultation on the draft legislative texts of the revised Design Law Directive and Regulation, MARQUES and the sister organisations ECTA and INTA have furthered their cooperation. ECTA, INTA and MARQUES are the signatories of the attached joint contribution. Our input builds upon the recommendations provided to the European Commission over the past years, in particular, our Joint Paper on Legal Review of EU Designs System, submitted in July 2018, and Joint Comments on the European Commissions Inception Impact Assessment on the review of the Design Directive and Community Design Regulation submitted in January 2021. As an overarching remark, we would like to welcome the efforts of the European Commission in attempting to achieve greater harmonisation in the area of industrial designs and taking on board some of the proposals and recommendations presented in our earlier joint statements. In this round of consultations, the signatories ECTA, INTA and MARQUES would like to draw the attention of the European Commission to a few specific areas/points that we have identified when studying the draft documents (Directive, Regulation and Implementing Regulation) and which we deem important to address. We thank the European Commission for the opportunity to provide our further comments and trust that they will be duly considered. Naturally, we remain available for any necessary follow-up. Respectfully submitted on behalf of MARQUES, the European Association of Trade Mark Owners Alessandra Romeo, MARQUES External Relations Officer, also for the contributors of MARQUES Designs Team
Read full responseResponse to Community Design registration
31 Jan 2023
MARQUES is the European Association representing the interest of brand owners in Europe and beyond. MARQUES has been involved in the debate on the reform of the European Union Design legislation since its inception, as ensued after the publication of the Legal Review on Industrial Designs Protection in Europe (the Review] in the year 2016. In the interest of designers and design right holders, MARQUES has advocated that the overall goals of the EU design law recast should be directed toward advancing a streamlined system of design protection at national, regional in the European Union - and international levels. MARQUES believes that design applicants should have full choice in that regard. A sound design protection system within Europe should be aimed at facilitating design owners in making their choice, by offering simplified and efficient procedures for design protection in a harmonised legal environment, which can ensure complementarity with the national design systems. For these reasons, MARQUES welcomed the adoption by the Commission of the two package proposals to modernise the legislation on design protection at the end of November last year. As the European Commission launched a public consultation on the draft legislative texts of the revised Design Law Directive and Regulation, MARQUES and the sister organisations ECTA and INTA have furthered their cooperation. ECTA, INTA and MARQUES are the signatories of the attached joint contribution. Our input builds upon the recommendations provided to the European Commission over the past years, in particular, our Joint Paper on Legal Review of EU Designs System, submitted in July 2018, and Joint Comments on the European Commissions Inception Impact Assessment on the review of the Design Directive and Community Design Regulation submitted in January 2021. As an overarching remark, we would like to welcome the efforts of the European Commission in attempting to achieve greater harmonisation in the area of industrial designs and taking on board some of the proposals and recommendations presented in our earlier joint statements. In this round of consultations, the signatories ECTA, INTA and MARQUES would like to draw the attention of the European Commission to a few specific areas/points that we have identified when studying the draft documents (Directive, Regulation and Implementing Regulation) and which we deem important to address. We thank the European Commission for the opportunity to provide our further comments and trust that they will be duly considered. Naturally, we remain available for any necessary follow-up. Respectfully submitted on behalf of MARQUES, the European Association of Trade Mark Owners Alessandra Romeo, MARQUES External Relations Officer, also for the contributors of MARQUES Designs Team
Read full responseResponse to Geographical indication protection at EU level for non-agricultural products
18 Jan 2021
MARQUES is the European Association representing brand owners' interests. The public ID number of MARQUES in the Transparency Register of the European Commission is 97131823590-44.
MARQUES unites European and international brand owners across all product sectors to address issues associated with the use, protection and value of IP rights, as these are vital to innovation, growth and job creation, which ultimately enhance internal markets. Its currently corporate member-ship crosses all industry lines and its members include IPR owners and legal practitioners represent-ing IPR owners in more than 80 countries. More information about MARQUES and its activities can be found on its website: www.marques.org.
MARQUES thanks the European Commission for the opportunity to provide this initial feedback on the Inception Impact Assessment published in relation to a proposed legislative initiative that would aim to create an EU-wide protection system for geographical indications (GIs) of non-agricultural products.
Attached please find MARQUES' contribution.
Submitted on behalf of MARQUES, European Association of Trade Mark Owners
by Alessandra Romeo, MARQUES External Relations Officer
Read full responseResponse to Review of the Community Designs Regulation
12 Jan 2021
MARQUES is the European Association representing brand owners' interests.
MARQUES (public ID number in the Transparency Register: 97131823590-44) is one of the current three signatories of the submitted joint contribution on the Commission’s Inception Impact Assessment on the Review of the Design Directive (the Directive) and Community Design Regulation (the Regulation), together with ECTA and INTA.
Considering the time frame of this consultation, ECTA, INTA and MARQUES submit this contribution jointly, following previous joint or coordinated submissions to the European Commission, on the EU Designs Review. This is without prejudice, for other user associations, representing the same or different stakeholders, to support in future, all or some of the positions and recommendations expressed in the attached joint paper.
The comments as submitted follow the structure of the Inception Impact Assessment, notably the tentative set of specific objectives and associated solutions/options proposed by the European Commission to frame the reform of European Union (EU) legislation on design protection. This joint contribution builds on the recommendations provided to the Commission over the past two years, in particular in the Joint Paper on Legal Review of EU Designs System, submitted by the same signatories ECTA, INTA and MARQUES in July 2018.
As noted, MARQUES looks forward to having the opportunity to provide any further individual contribution and any more in-depth analysis on the Commission’s legislative proposals in due course.
12 January 2021
Submitted on behalf of MARQUES, European Association of Trade Mark Owners
Alessandra Romeo, MARQUES External Relations Officer
Read full responseResponse to Intellectual Property Action Plan
20 Aug 2020
This feedback is submitted on behalf of MARQUES, a European Association representing brand owners' interests in Europe as well as globally.
Established in 1986 and later incorporated in the United Kingdom as a not for profit company limited by guarantee, MARQUES unites Europe’s and International brand owners across all product sectors to address issues associated with use, protection and value of intellectual property rights as these are vital to innovation, growth and job creation, which ultimately enhance internal markets. Its membership includes brand owners and IP professionals in more than 80 countries.
MARQUES is an accredited organization before the EUIPO, appointed observer at the EUIPO's Management Board and Budget Committee, an official non-governmental observer at WIPO - World Intellectual Property Organization and a registered interest representative organization (ID number 97131823590-44) in the “Transparency register” set up by the European Parliament and the Commission, which extends and replaces the former “Register of interest representatives” opened by the Commission in 2008.
MARQUES thanks the European Commission for the opportunity to provide feedback on its Roadmap on the Intellectual Property Action Plan.
MARQUES wishes to express its full support to the aims of the proposed IP Action Plan, as we agree on the fact that there still are challenges to address, despite the fact that the IP framework in the European Union has already been improved to a significant extent, especially in specific areas, such as for trade marks, since the very recent legal review, and the further improvement of the European cooperation among all EU IP Offices to deliver harmonisation of filing formalities and practices.
Even so, the IP protection and enforcement systems in the European Union are clearly still in need to become more robust and, above all, more consistent and fully accessible to all who are in need of protecting their innovations, creations, and commercial assets. With business becoming increasingly digital and global, it is more important than ever to strive for consistency across both registration and enforcement, to support the operations of European businesses in efficiently protecting and enforcing their IP values in the single market of the European Union, and be able to compete much stronger in the global markets, and ultimately, to help educate all businesses, as well as the civil society, on the significance of IP rights in the economy, for boosting innovation, job creation, competitiveness, and ultimately ensure a much safer harbour for consumers and citizens.
Our further comments are in the attached document.
On behalf of MARQUES, European Association of Trade Mark Owners
14 August 2020
Alessandra Romeo, MARQUES External Relations Officer
Read full responseResponse to European Union trade mark
4 Nov 2016
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/... supplementing Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 on the European Union trade mark and repealing Commission Regulations (EC) No 2868/95 and (EC) No. 216/96
MARQUES' feedback on draft Delegated Regulation
MARQUES would like to submit detailed comments on the draft delegated regulation, the length of which exceeds the permitted number of characters allowed by this electronic feedback form, however.
Consequently, MARQUES will endeavor to submit its comments to the European Commission, by addressing the pertinent responsible DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Unit F5 Intellectual Property and Fight against Counterfeiting, by return e-mail and ahead of the provided deadline.
MARQUES respectfully request that its comments as they will be timely submitted by means of e-mail to the intended recipient in this same date can be deemed as regularly filed and can be taken into account.
Your sincerely,
On behalf of MARQUES, The European Association of Trade Mark Owners
Alessandra Romeo, MARQUES External Relations Officer
Read full responseResponse to Revision of the European Union trade mark Regulation (2nd part)
21 Oct 2016
MARQUES' feedback on the draft Implementing Regulation
Representation of the trade mark
Article 3(3)(a) – MARQUES believes further clarity on the requirements for representation of word marks would be of assistance to brand owners and the EUIPO. In particular, the reinsertion of the reference to the use of both small and capital letters being permitted that is currently included in the current implementing regulation. MARQUES is also of the view that the guidance currently in part B, section 2, paragraph 10.1 of the Office Guidelines should be incorporated into the implementing regulation, namely that a word mark is a typewritten mark with elements including letters, words, numerals, keyboard signs or punctuation marks written across a single line and that the alphabet of any official union language can be used in a word mark.
Article 3(3)(b) – MARQUES supports the removal of the requirement that an indication of the colours making up a figurative mark must be included but proposes that it should be made clear in the implementing regulation that the representation may be accompanied by an indication of the colours making up the mark.
Article 3(3)(f) – MARQUES supports the clarification provided in the implementing regulation that a colour per se mark cannot have contours and is therefore an abstract protection of colours, that the applicant can choose to add a description to indicate the systematic arrangement of the colours but is not obliged to do so and, if there is no description, then the systematic arrangement is deemed to be that shown in the representation in the application.
Article 3(9) – MARQUES proposes that this provision be incorporated within Article 3(3)(c) as we feel it would provide greater clarity to brand owners if all the requirement for 3D shape marks were to be in the same paragraph.
Claiming seniority of a national trade mark before registration of the EU trade mark
Article 6 – MARQUES supports the abolition of the certification requirement for seniority claims.
Conversion
Article 22 – there is no equivalent to Rule 44(2) of the current implementing regulation. MARQUES would propose that the implementing regulation include further clarity of the time limits to file the conversion, following the changes introduced by Article 47(3) of the EUTMR.
Languages
Article 24 – MARQUES supports the relaxation of translations of supporting documents to be used in written proceedings so that these are only required upon the request of the Office.
Article 25(1) – MARQUES supports the proposed change whereby a party only has to provide translations for those parts of the document that they have indicated are relevant.
Form to be used for the filing of an international application
Article 28 - The form made available by the Office shall include all the elements of the official form provided by the International Bureau. MARQUES believes that the implementing regulation should include further clarity with respect to the requirement of also using the official form provided by the International Bureau. While such use is not made mandatory, however, the official form provided by the International Bureau contains information - including on instructions to debit from a current account the withdrawal of the prescribed fees due to the International Bureau and the designated contracting parties - that are not - and may not be - reflected in the form made available by the Office. Similar considerations may apply - mutatis mutandis - to all procedures administered by the Office for International applications or registrations, including in the case of territorial extensions (Article 31) or the request for conversion of an international registration designating the Union into a national trademark application (Article 35).
For and on behalf of MARQUES, the European Association of Trade Mark Owners
Alessandra Romeo, MARQUES External Relations Officer
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