New article: Symbols of National Importance, Article 6ter Paris Convention and Public Policy and Morality

Liliia Oprysk recently published "Symbols of National Importance, Article 6ter Paris Convention and Public Policy and Morality: Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service Before the General Court in T-82/24 ‒ RUSSIAN WARSHIP" in GRUR International 1/2025.

Recently, the General Court upheld the refusal of EU trademark registration for the verbal mark "𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏, 𝐆𝐎 𝐅**𝐊 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅," filed by Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service. The application was initially rejected on the grounds of public policy and morality and subsequently by the Board of Appeal on the grounds of non-distinctiveness.The BoA and the GC repeatedly considered the phrase a political message. However, it is much more than that. In the article in GRUR International, Liliia reflect more broadly on the protection of symbols of national importance, particularly in the context of Article 6ter of the Paris Convention and public policy and morality as grounds for refusal, and the implications of cross-border use of such symbols for examinations at the EUIPO.

The accompanying illustration features the postage stamp issued by Ukrposhta (Ukraine's national postal service) in April 2022. A limited edition of 1 million stamps was sold out in a matter of days.