Summary

The article addresses problems of contesting a trademark registration on the grounds of non-use. Analysing the Estonian trademark legislation, the author concludes that the legal regulation of the situation where a trademark owner has not used his registered trademark within an uninterrupted five-year period in general solves the problem by providing certain legal means for contesting such a registration, but, at the same time, the valid regulation is not sufficient for the enforcement practice nor has Estonia such a practice for the time being. Based on this conclusion, the author expresses de lege ferenda the idea according to which in situations where someone has contested the validity of a trademark registration on the grounds of non-use, the activities to reach an agreement between the parties must be executed first and, if such an agreement cannot be reached, the contestant, in order to continue the case, will have to bring an action.