# The Community Trade Mark (Designation of Community Trade Mark Courts) Regulations 2005, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the Community Trade Mark Regulations 1996 (SI 1996/1908) (“the 1996 Regulations”) and the Trade Marks (International Registrations Designating the European Community, etc.) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/2332) (“the 2004 Regulations”).
The amendments made by these Regulations are needed as a result of a failure to include a provision in the 1996 Regulations expressly designating the courts of “second instance” which are to hear appeals from the designated courts of “first instance”, as required by Article 91(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No. 40/94 on the Community trade mark (OJ No. L 11, 14.1.94, p.1) (“Regulation 40/94”). That oversight was repeated when the 1996 Regulations were amended by regulation 15 of the 2004 Regulations to extend the number of designated first instance courts.
Regulation 2 revokes regulation 15 of the 2004 Regulations before the date on which regulation 15 was due to come into force. This ensures that the version of regulation 9 of the 1996 Regulations substituted by the 2004 Regulations will never have effect.
Regulation 3 then amends the 1996 Regulations by substituting a new version of regulation 9 designating the Patents County Court and seven other county courts as additional courts having jurisdiction in England and Wales over proceedings arising out of Regulation 40/94. It also, for the first time, designates the Court of Appeal in England and Wales, the Court of Session in Scotland and the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland as courts of second instance for the purposes of Article 91(1).
A regulatory impact assessment has not been prepared, but the increase in the number of designated first instance courts should assist small and medium size enterprises by providing improved access to justice.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/440/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/community-trade-mark-designation-of-community-trade-mark-courts-regulations-2005/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.