CLASS 46
Now in its twelfth year, Class 46 is dedicated to European trade mark law and practice. This weblog is written by a team of enthusiasts who want to spread the word and share their thoughts with others.
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TUESDAY, 8 OCTOBER 2013
No plain packaging, says EU Parliament — but health warnings grow
In its vote earlier today on the Tobacco Products Directive, a plenary session of the European Parliament rejected plain packaging for tobacco products, while opting for 65% sized health warning labels on both the front and back of tobacco packs.
Tags: 'plain packaging' tobacco products,
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No plain packaging, says EU Parliament — but health warnings grow
In its vote earlier today on the Tobacco Products Directive, a plenary session of the European Parliament rejected plain packaging for tobacco products, while opting for 65% sized health warning labels on both the front and back of tobacco packs.
The 'plain packaging' amendment
Brand organisations have welcomed the Strasbourg vote to reject a proposed amendment to the Directive that would require mandatory ‘plain packaging’ for tobacco products, a policy that has been adopted so far only in Australia and which has struggled to find favour with the European Union’s institutions. While today’s vote is unlikely to dissuade supporters of ‘plain packaging’ from continuing their campaign, in Europe and beyond there is a discernible shift towards a demand that such policies be based on credible evidence — which suggests that Australia’s experiment will continue to attract close attention from both sides of the debate.
Brand organisations have welcomed the Strasbourg vote to reject a proposed amendment to the Directive that would require mandatory ‘plain packaging’ for tobacco products, a policy that has been adopted so far only in Australia and which has struggled to find favour with the European Union’s institutions. While today’s vote is unlikely to dissuade supporters of ‘plain packaging’ from continuing their campaign, in Europe and beyond there is a discernible shift towards a demand that such policies be based on credible evidence — which suggests that Australia’s experiment will continue to attract close attention from both sides of the debate.
In the light of today’s vote, a number of jurisdictions that have been considering the introduction of ‘plain packaging’ at national level, including the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Scottish Parliament, will be invited to rethink their proposals, both by those who challenge their effectiveness and by those whose concerns relate to the erosion of trade mark and other intellectual property rights held by tobacco companies.
The health warning label amendment
Adoption of the amendment requiring health warning labels to cover 65% of the front and back of the packs, placed from the top edge of the packs, is a matter of profound disappointment to the tobacco industry, which has argued that this requirement goes well beyond a health warning and enters the realm of excessive and unjustifiable restrictions on the use of validly acquired and valuable trade mark rights in respect of lawful products. Within the tobacco sector, it was felt that the absolute acceptable maximum size for health warning labels would be 50%.
As an organisation representing the concerns and interests of brand owners, MARQUES has always opposed the taking of what it regards as extreme measures against intellectual property rights and the normal use of trade marks, such as those requiring ‘plain packaging’ and proposals to introduce unnecessarily oversized health warning labels: measures such as this undermine the legal protection which intellectual property offers and also prejudices the ability of consumers to rely upon trade marks when choosing products.
What happens next?
Following today’s vote, negotiations will now start between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on the tobacco dossier to find a political compromise in the first reading process by the beginning of 2014.
* Regarding MARQUES’s position on the taking of extreme measures against intellectual property rights, click here for the most recent joint statement issued by MARQUES together with APRAM, ECTA, BMM, UNION and GRUR.
Adoption of the amendment requiring health warning labels to cover 65% of the front and back of the packs, placed from the top edge of the packs, is a matter of profound disappointment to the tobacco industry, which has argued that this requirement goes well beyond a health warning and enters the realm of excessive and unjustifiable restrictions on the use of validly acquired and valuable trade mark rights in respect of lawful products. Within the tobacco sector, it was felt that the absolute acceptable maximum size for health warning labels would be 50%.
As an organisation representing the concerns and interests of brand owners, MARQUES has always opposed the taking of what it regards as extreme measures against intellectual property rights and the normal use of trade marks, such as those requiring ‘plain packaging’ and proposals to introduce unnecessarily oversized health warning labels: measures such as this undermine the legal protection which intellectual property offers and also prejudices the ability of consumers to rely upon trade marks when choosing products.
What happens next?
Following today’s vote, negotiations will now start between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on the tobacco dossier to find a political compromise in the first reading process by the beginning of 2014.
* Regarding MARQUES’s position on the taking of extreme measures against intellectual property rights, click here for the most recent joint statement issued by MARQUES together with APRAM, ECTA, BMM, UNION and GRUR.
* For further information concerning MARQUES's activities in the field of 'plain packaging', see the webpage of the MARQUES Regulatory Team, here
Posted by: Blog Administrator @ 14.49Tags: 'plain packaging' tobacco products,
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