After being unanimously adopted by the Management Board of the EUIPO in November 2020, the CP12 Common Practice/Recommendations on “Evidence in trade mark appeal proceedings” has now been published across the EU.

CP12 is the first convergence initiative in the area of trade mark appeal proceedings and provides a set of recommendations in relation to evidence, in particular, its types, means, sources and identification of relevant dates, as well as its structure and presentation, and the treatment of confidential evidence.

CP12 deals with evidence in trade mark proceedings in general and its potential applicability may therefore go beyond appeal proceedings and be used in wider contexts, including first instance trade mark proceedings.

The Common Communication document, which includes the CP12 Common Practice/Recommendations and other information, including implementation dates and affected proceedings for each of the implementing Member State IP Offices, was published simultaneously on the websites of all EU IP Offices on 31 March 2021. To read EUIPO’s press release, click here.