European Communities Trademark Association
ECTA or the European Communities Trademark Association was established in the year 1980. It is a corporate body registered in England and organized under the English law. It has an approximate number of 1500 members, which come from all the member states of the European Union (EU). It also consists of some associate members of countries from all over the world. The ECTA acts as a platform for people working in the field of trademarks, designs and related Intellectual Property (IP) matters. The people referred to are mostly professionals such as trademark advisors, lawyers, in-house counsels, trademark attorneys and others considered to be experts in the arena of trademarks. [1]
Membership
There are various categories in membership of ECTA. The members of ECTA are mostly categorized into the following[2]:
Ordinary Members: These are nationals of one of the Member States of European Union employed or having a place of business in a Member State and qualify to practice before the OHIM (Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market).
Associate Members: These need not to be nationals of Members States but should have a place of business or employment in any one of the Member States. The Associate member can be any person who is qualified to practice professional representative before the Trademarks Registry
Affiliate Members: An Affiliate Member of the Association can be a professional representative involved in Trademark matters in the Member States.
Student Members: To be a student member of the ECTA, the person should be a national of one of the Member States and should be an undergraduate or post-graduate pursuing a full-time course from a university in any of the Member States and should have an interest in law of trademarks and design. To obtain a student membership of the Association, the applicant will have to apply within three years of completion of course.
Recently Graduated Members: These include nationals of one of the Member States who have graduated or have completed a full-time course from a university in a Member State. Retired Members: These include individuals who have already served as Ordinary Members, Affiliate members or as Associate Members for a period of more than five years and are no longer active in any kind of trademark practice.
Role
The role of ECTA is mostly concentrated towards addressing the issues concerning the interests of the member states. It refrains itself from taking a stand on issues which lacks a common viewpoint from all the member states [3]. The main role of ECTA is to serve as a spokesperson on the problems related to the use and protection of industrial trademarks/designs in the European Union [4]. Apart from these, the ECTA also has to maintain close relations with the European Commission as well as with the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trademarks and Designs) OHIM, which manages and promotes Community Designs and Community TradeMarks within the EU.[3]
Structure
The Association is governed by the Council, which consists of a total number of 49 members and is assisted by the Committees. The members of the Council are proposed by the members from the Member States. The main motive behind choosing this kind of structure of the Association was to avoid any kind of national dominance. The Articles of Association guarantee the neutrality of the Association. These Articles of Association state that the Council shall reflect the principle of the European Union (EU). Based on this principle it is stated that The President and the Vice President of the Association must always be of different nationality.[5]
Committees
The Committees of the ECTA are granted some of the powers from the Council. The Committees are in fact, the soul of the Association as most of the work of the Association stems from these Committees. There are in all 11 Committees until now who look after the work of the Association. These Committees mostly include[6]:
- Advisory Committee
- Anti-Counterfeiting Committee
- Design Committee
- Internet Committee
- Geographical Indications Committee
- Law Committee
- Harmonization Committee
- OHIM-Link Committee
- Publications Committee
- Membership and Disciplinary Committee
- Professional Affairs Committee