Last week our friends at the European Commission issued Communications commenting on the first reading position of the Council of the European Union on the adoption of the recast Trade Marks Directive and the new Community Trade Mark Regulation under what it calls the ordinary legislative procedure.

For those of you who are either still either citing Regulation 40/94 or dreaming of it, please remember that the new Regulation will be amending Regulation 207/2009 -- which repealed and re-enacted it.  -- as well as the Implementing Regulation (2868/95). The Community Trade Mark Fees Regulation will go too. 

The Communications say that a plenary vote of the European Parliament is expected for mid-December 2015, leading to the final adoption of the texts following a formal second reading [how lucky are Europe's Parliamentarians, who only have to read the new law twice.  Some of us will be reading it again and again, for many years to come!] in which no further amendments are likely.

The following documents may be useful if you want to pursue the new law further:

Communication COM (2015) 588

Communication COM (2015) 589

Council's position on the new Regulation (202 pages)

Council's position on the new Directive (70 pages)