How to protect the trade name "Macedonia"

"ESEE supports its position on the protection of Greek trademarks as a result of the Prespa agreement and the trade name" Macedonia "for 4,000 Greek companies, which is owned exclusively by Greece" , said the president of the Of the Greek Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESEE) Vbadilis Korkidis

In detail, the messages of Mr. Korkis are as follows:

"Companies based in the neighboring country do not think they can use it in their trade only with their new name "Northern Macedonia", when and when it is legalized and officially internationalized.In particular, and in order to avoid issues due to lack of clarity in the use of the term "Macedonia", the ESEE has already asked the Greek government to ensure that during the three-year period provided for in the agreement to resolve the use of trademarks there will be no change in the names of Greek commercial products that include the term "Macedonia". With regard to the products of Denomination of Origin (PDO) and Geographical Indication (PGI), there is no question of questioning, as these have been determined by decisions of the I & # 39; 39, European Union. Because in northern Greece we have internationally marketable and globally recognizable products whose brand includes the term "Macedonia", we also believe that it will also be guaranteed that these products will not be used, d & # 39; where the illegal adoption of this brand by companies. based in the neighboring country. EEM has highlighted the problem with a letter to the government outlining its positions and proposals on the issue. Finally, it welcomes the new development initiative of the CCBM, which concerns the provision of legal and procedural support to each Greek company for the registration of trademarks containing the term "Macedonia". This service will be provided to any Greek company, not only companies based in northern Greece, but also companies regardless of the sector to which they belong. Particular attention is therefore required in the national, European and international registration of Greek trademarks by Scandinavian companies. It should be noted that only 24 Greek companies have established their "Macedonian" products at the European level and 2 at the international level. The three official trademark procedures by the companies are as follows:

1. National Signage

• Electronic Submission

• Government Fee 110 euros for the first clbad (for each additional clbad and up to 39%). to the tenth, 20 euros in fees)

• Time: The decision of homologation is published on the website General Secretariat of Commerce (GGE) within a month of the date of the deposit.

2. Community trade mark (in the European Union)

• Electronic submission https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/ Alicante Spain

• The basic fee covers one clbad and is raised to 850 EUR for an electronic application, for a printed matter EUR 1,000

• The fee for the second clbad of goods and services is EUR 50.

• The fee for the third and each additional clbad rises to EUR 150 per clbad

• As of the date of publication, a third person who considers that the mark should not be registered has three months to raise objections, after the expiry of this period, the mark may be registered. In any case, any period fixed during the procedure may not be less than one month and may not exceed six months.

3. International trademark

• The registration of a trademark in various countries outside the European Union. The entire process of sending to the international office is provided by the Directorate of Commercial Property of Greece, which performs the basic checks

• The basic requirement is the l & # 39; existence of a national or Community basic mark. The application form is available via INTERNET on the website of the International Office www.wipo.int in Geneva

• Fee: 15 euros (Euro) for sending the application to the International Bureau of brands. The basic purpose of the international trademark application is $ 653 for a black and white mark or $ 903 for a color mark. Time required for the decision: maximum 18 months ".