Chapter Three – Community Trade Marks Chambers
Law 2943/12.09.2001 (GG 203, A')
"Serving of sentences by drug dealers and other provisions within the remit of the Ministry for Justice"
THE PRESIDENT OF THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC
Hereby issues the following law as adopted by the Parliament:
COMMUNITY TRADE MARKS CHAMBERS
For the purposes of Article 91 of Council Regulation No. (EC) 40/94 of 20 December 1993 on the community trade mark, specially designated chambers shall be established in the civil Courts of First Instance and Courts of Appeal on Athens and Thessaloniki under the form of first and second instance tribunals for community trade marks, which shall exercise all powers assigned by the above Regulation to community trade marks courts.
1. As regards the hearing of community trade mark cases under Council Regulation No. (EC) 40/94 relevant jurisdiction of: a) the specially designated community trade marks chamber of the Athens Courts of First Instance and of Appeal shall extend to the areas of jurisdiction of the following Courts of Appeal namely, the regions of Athens, Aegean Sea, Dodecanese, Corfu, Crete, Lamia, Nafplio, Patras and Piraeus, and b) the specially designated community trade marks chamber of the Thessaloniki Courts of First Instance and of Appeal shall extend to the areas of jurisdiction of the following Courts of Appeal namely, the regions of Thessaloniki, Western Macedonia, Thrace, Ioannina and Larissa.
1. Cases falling under the jurisdiction of the community trade marks chamber and introduced in another chamber of the same Court shall be referred to the community trade marks chamber.
2. Cases not falling under the jurisdiction of the community trade marks chamber and introduced therein may be submitted for hearing by such chamber or referred to the competent chamber.
3. For the remainder, the provisions of Article 46 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply.
1. The community trade marks cham-bers shall try cases relating to patents, utility model certificates, technology transfer, topographies of semiconductor products and supplementary protection certificates, industrial designs and, in general, cases relating to patents falling within the jurisdiction of the civil courts.
2. Provisions in Articles 7 and 8 shall apply correspondingly.
1. The community trade marks chambers of the Athens and Thessaloniki Courts of First Instance and of Appeal, provided they have relevant jurisdiction pursuant to provisions in the domestic law, shall also try cases of national trade marks.
2. The community trade marks chambers, provided they have relevant jurisdiction pursuant to provisions in the domestic law may also try other commercial law cases if, in the Judge's or the appointed Judicial Council's discretion, this is required for Service purposes.
3. Members of the community trade marks chambers shall preferably be judges specialised or experienced in trade mark law, in particular, community trade mark law, patent law and commercial law in general.
Provisions in this chapter shall apply to cases in which the application initiating proceedings shall be filed with the Court's secretariat upon this law entering into effect.