Roundtable Report: Recent Developments on 3D Trademarks in the European Union

Roschier Attorneys Ltd. hosted a roundtable on March 20 in Helsinki, Finland, focused on 3D trademarks in the European Union (EU). Moderated by Kaisu Korpua (Roschier Attorneys Ltd., Finland), the event addressed the new rules governing the criteria for registration of 3D trademarks introduced by the European Trade Marks Regulation, as well as recent EU case law on 3D trademarks.

Gustav Melander (Roschier Attorneys Ltd., Sweden), who worked at the Swedish Patent and Trademark Office from 2008 to 2018, and as a seconded national expert with both the Opposition Division and the 5th Board of Appeal at the European Union Intellectual Property Office between 2012 and 2016, gave a thorough overview of the changes to the EU legislation regarding 3D trademarks, as well as on recent EU case law. Patrik Lindbohm, Legal Officer at the Finnish Patent and Registration Office, then commented on the changes and cases from the Finnish perspective.

Following Mr. Melander’s and Mr. Lindbohm’s presentations, the participants engaged in a lively discussion about the possibility of extending the scope of protection of other types of IP rights, such as designs and copyright, using 3D trademark registrations, and the difficulties relating to this approach. In addition, the participants discussed the challenges of enforcing 3D trademarks.

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