Article 184

Form and contents of the international application

  1. The international application shall be filed in one of the official languages of the Union, using a form provided by the Office. The Office shall inform the applicant filing the international application of the date on which the documents making up the international application are received by the Office. Unless otherwise specified by the applicant on form when he files the international application, the Office shall correspond with the applicant in the language of filing in a standard form.
  2. If the international application is filed in a language which is not one of the languages allowed under the Madrid Protocol, the applicant shall indicate a second language from among those languages. This shall be the language in which the Office submits the international application to the International Bureau.
  3. Where the international application is filed in a language other than one of the languages allowed under the Madrid Protocol for the filing of international applications, the applicant may provide a translation of the list of goods or services and of any other textual elements forming part of the international application in the language in which the international application is to be submitted to the International Bureau pursuant to paragraph 2. If the application is not accompanied by such translation, the applicant shall authorise the Office to include that translation in the international application. Where the translation has not yet been established in the course of the registration procedure for the EU trade mark application on which the international application is based, the Office shall, without delay, arrange for the translation.
  4. The filing of an international application shall be subject to the payment of a fee to the Office. Where the international registration is to be based on an EU trade mark once it is registered, the fee shall be due on the date of registration of the EU trade mark. The application shall be deemed not to have been filed until the required fee has been paid. Where the fee has not been paid, the Office shall inform the applicant accordingly. In the event of electronic filing, the Office may authorise the International Bureau to collect the fee on its behalf.
  5. Where the examination of the international application reveals any of the following deficiencies, the Office shall invite the applicant to remedy those deficiencies within such period as it may specify:
    • (a) the international application has not been filed using the form referred to in paragraph 1, and does not contain all the indications and information required by that form;
    • (b) the list of goods and services contained in the international application is not covered by the list of goods and services appearing in the basic EU trade mark application or basic EU trade mark;
    • (c) the mark which is subject to the international application is not identical with the mark as it appears in the basic EU trade mark application or basic EU trade mark;
    • (d) an indication in the international application as to the trade mark, other than a disclaimer or a colour claim, does not also appear in the basic EU trade mark application or basic EU trade mark;
    • (e) where colour is claimed in the international application as a distinctive feature of the mark, the basic EU trade mark application or basic EU trade mark is not in the same colour or colours; or (f) according to the indications made in the international form, the applicant is not eligible to file an international application through the Office in accordance with Article 2(1)(ii) of the Madrid Protocol.
  6. Where the applicant has failed to authorise the Office to include a translation as provided for in paragraph 3, or where it is otherwise unclear on which list of goods and services the international application is to be based, the Office shall invite the applicant to make the required indications within such period as it may specify.
  7. If the deficiencies referred to in paragraph 5 are not remedied or the required indications referred to in paragraph 6 are not given within the period fixed by the Office, the Office shall refuse to forward the international application to the International Bureau.
  8. The Office shall forward the international application to the International Bureau along with the certification provided for under Article 3(1) of the Madrid Protocol as soon as the international application meets the requirements laid down in this Article, the implementing act adopted pursuant to paragraph 9 of this Article, and in Article 183 of this Regulation.
  9. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying the exact form, including the elements thereof, to be used for the filing of an international application pursuant to paragraph 1. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 207(2).