Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 May 2013
329. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide details of the trademark arrangements for the Book of Kells (details supplied); if he has assessed the impact that this arrangement has on prospective tourism and heritage businesses in Kells, County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25877/13]
View answerA trademark is a sign which serves to distinguish the goods and/or services of one undertaking from those of another. The proprietor of a trademark can, if wishing to seek protection of the mark at national level only within a country, apply to register a trademark at the Industrial Property office of a Member State. In the event that protection is sought across all of the territories of the Member States of the EU, a Community trademark application can be filed at the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market, (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM) in Alicante.
A Community trademark grants its owner an exclusive right, in the 27 Member States of the European Union, to use the trademark and to prevent third parties using, without consent, the same or a similar mark for identical or similar goods and/or services as those protected by the CTM.
I understand that in the case referred to by the Deputy, a number of trademarks consisting of or containing the words “The Book of Kells” have been registered at the Community Trade Mark office in Alicante for a variety of goods and services. The proprietor of these trademarks is listed as Trinity College, Dublin. The Office in Alicante is a Community institution and is not one in which I have a role in, or any jurisdiction over matters, such as that outlined by the Deputy.
