Council of the European Union and European Parliament 22 October 2008, Directive 2008/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2008 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks (Codified version) (Text with EEA relevance)

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Directive 2008/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council codifies and replaces Council Directive 89/104/EEC, harmonising the trade mark laws of EU Member States to the extent necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market, without requiring full-scale approximation. Key provisions establish the signs eligible for trade mark registration, exhaustive grounds for refusal or invalidity (including lack of distinctive character, descriptiveness, and conflicts with earlier rights), the exclusive rights conferred by registration, limitations on those rights (including exhaustion of rights upon first marketing in the Community), and the conditions for revocation based on non-use over a continuous five-year period. Member States retain discretion over procedural rules, certain optional grounds of refusal or invalidity, and the protection of trade marks acquired through use, while remaining bound by the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.AI