A Community trademark confers on the proprietor exclusive rights therein. The proprietor shall be entitled to prevent all third parties not having consent from using it in the course of trade. Art. 9 of the CTM Regulation
You are responsible for enforcing your registered trademark. To do this effectively you must ensure your trademark is correctly registered for the goods and services you trade in. A registered trademark will warn competitors that you have a right but if someone uses your trademark, or one like it, without permission, it’s up to you to take action to stop them.
Make sure no one tries to protect an identical or similar trademark. Search trademark registers for trademark applications or registrations that are identical or similar to yours. OHIM offers a search tool for CTM applications and registrations. TMview is a trade mark search engine that can search for both CTMs and national applications and registrations in the EU Member States.
If you discover a competitor has applied to register, or has registered, a mark that is similar or identical to your own, you can enforce your earlier right and oppose or cancel the trademark registration.
