On 27 March 2013, the European Commission‘s DG Internal Market adopted proposals for a revision of the Regulation on the Community trade mark and for a recast of the Directive approximating the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks. According to the European Commission, the initiatives aim at upgrading, streamlining and modernising the current legislation in order to make the trade mark registration systems all over the Union more accessible and efficient for businesses in terms of lower costs and complexity, increased speed, greater predictability and legal security.This briefing will present the new package and discuss its impact on the protection afforded and on the registration procedures before the OHIM and before national offices.Speakers:Michael Koenig, acting Head of Unit, Industrial Property, DG MARKT, European Commission, BrusselsGeert Glas, Partner and Chairman Global IP Group, Allen & Overy LLP, Brussels