Trademarks, patents and utility models in Greece

Some important categories of industrial property rights under Greek law are summarised below:

Greek trade mark law has undergone significant changes recently, with the previous Law No. 2239/1994 being replaced by the new Law No. 4072/2012.

Under current Greek law, the following commonly known types of marks are capable of being registered as national trade marks, in outline:

– Word marks: these may consist of one or more words or phrases, provided they are capable of distinguishing the applicant’s product from competing products and are not merely descriptive in character.

– Figurative marks: marks consisting of symbols of any kind, such as letters, numbers, words that deviate from their usual form, as well as abstract graphics, provided distinctiveness exists.

– Composite marks: marks composed of a word element and a figurative element.

– Three‑dimensional marks: in practice, a frequent case is the shape of the product or its packaging.

Certain signs are, however, not registrable as trade marks. The most important categories include:

– signs that lack distinctiveness;

– marks consisting exclusively of signs or indications which, in trade, may serve to designate the kind, quality, characteristics, 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 service;

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

– marks consisting exclusively of shapes which result from the nature of the goods themselves, which are necessary to obtain a technical result, or which give substantial value to the goods;

– signs which may deceive as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of the goods or services.

In addition to the categories listed above, registration of a mark is of course also prohibited where it is identical with, or so similar to, an earlier mark valid in Greece—whether national or international—that there is a likelihood of confusion.

The trade mark registration procedure requires the filing of an application with the competent trade mark office of the Ministry of Development, together with various supporting documents and a representation of the mark applied for. In this procedure, it is advisable to engage a Greek lawyer to conduct an in‑depth prior search in the register to ascertain any prior registrations with which there could be a likelihood of confusion.

International and EU‑wide marks enjoy corresponding protection in Greece as provided for legislatively in other countries.

Greek law also provides industrial protection for inventions, by enabling the filing of a patent application provided certain statutory requirements are met.

An invention is to be understood as a creative achievement for solving a problem in a technical field, by applying laws of nature, in a previously unknown manner which, from the perspective of a person skilled in the art, goes beyond the ordinary level of progress or the relevant state of the art. The law provides for the grant of a patent for new inventions that involve creative potential and are susceptible of industrial application. The subject matter to be protected may concern a product, a method or an industrial application.

– discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods;

– aesthetic creations;

– schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games and doing business, as well as, in principle, computer programs;

– the presentation of information;

– surgical and therapeutic methods for treatment of the human or animal body;

– diagnostic methods practised on humans and animals.

Under Greek law, utility models represent new intellectual inventions embodied in a tangible object. They relate mainly to the technical field, provide solutions to technical problems and, provided they are also susceptible of industrial application, can enjoy protection by issuance of a corresponding utility model certificate, even if no inventive step is present.

By way of example, the following are cited: tools, instruments, containers, accessories that are either manufactured for the first time or improved/perfected to achieve the intended purpose.

Grant of a utility model requires filing an application with the competent national Industrial Property Organization, with most patent provisions applying mutatis mutandis.

Pursuant to Ministerial Decrees P.D. 259/1997 and 161/2002, industrial designs and models also enjoy industrial property protection, for which corresponding international and European agreements have meanwhile been concluded (see 2006/954/EC).

An industrial design/model is a two‑dimensional (design) or three‑dimensional (model) form with a practical purpose which, although constituting an intellectual creation due to its aesthetic result, cannot be protected as a copyright work under the relevant statutory provisions due to the absence of a specific degree of creative achievement. Ministerial Decree P.D. 257/1997 defines an industrial design and model as the outwardly visible image of the whole or part of a product that results from its particular features, in particular the lines, contours, shape, form or the material of the product and/or its decoration or packaging. These are thus new graphic or colour compositions or three‑dimensional designs that secure a particular appearance, which can be used as a prototype for the industrial or artisanal manufacture of the aesthetically shaped product, while at the same time providing aesthetic enjoyment. By way of example, the shapes of furniture, shoes, decorative items and the like are cited.

Industrial designs may, provided the statutory requirements are met, be protected either by filing a corresponding application with the International Bureau in Geneva or with the Industrial Property Organization in Greece, which is now obliged to forward the application to the International Bureau. For the grant of the protection sought, the designs/models must be new and have individual character.

(Status: September 2012. All information provided without guarantee.)