George Mihai Irimescu⁕

Abstract
In the attributive system, an important element of the trademark registration procedure is the designation by the applicant of the goods and services for which it wishes its trademark to be protected. If in the declarative system the extent of trademark protection is given by the goods and / or services for which the trademark is actually used, therefore by an element of fact, in the attributive system the extent of protection is dictated by the applicant's expression of will, by choice, when filing a trademark
application. As such, one of the main criticisms of the attributive trademark protection system was that applicants may abuse the registration procedure in order to obtain protection for a wider range of products and / or services than those for which the trademark is, in fact, used. In this context, the Nice Classification is an essential tool accepted and used in most countries of the world for the designation of goods and services. Its wide spread used is determined, at a practical level, by the need for unitary cross-border protection of rights. At a legislative level, it was mainly imposed through international agreements. However, we will see below that European case law has sought to reduce the shortcomings of the attributive protection system, where the use of the Nice Classification is of essence, by encouraging trademark owners to seek protection for specific goods and services, in full congruence with the use of those marks on the market.

⁕ George Mihai Irimescu este doctorand al Universităţii „Nicolae Titulescu” şi consilier în proprietate industrială, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..