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CHANGED CIRCUMSTANCES IN TRADEMARK APPLICATIONS
In a 2001 judgment in an administrative suit arising out of a trademark registration applica-tion, the Supreme Administrative Court stated that before the registration of a trademark is ap-proved, the registration application is still pend-ing, and exclusivity in the mark is only acquired from the date when registration is granted. If there is a change in the law or in the facts of the case before the registration procedure is com-pleted, the competent authority should deal with the case according to the new law or facts. In the case concerned, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) originally rejected the application under Article 37 Paragraph 1 Item 12 of the Trademark Law, on the grounds of similarity with a mark already registered by another owner for use on the same or similar designated goods. However, the trademark on which the rejection was based was subsequently transferred to the applicant in the case under review. The court held that due to such changed circumstances, the grounds for rejection under the cited Article no longer ex-isted, and the IPO's rejection was unfounded.