COMMISSION DECISION

of 4 June 2021

regarding the licencing of the Natura 2000 logo

(2021/C 229/03)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (1), and in particular Article 17(3) thereof,

Having regard to the Decision of the Commission of 19 September 2001 (PV1536) conferring to the Directors General and Heads of Services the power to decide on the need to file an application for protection of intellectual property rights resulting from the activities or programmes for which they are responsible, the granting of licences related thereto, the acquisition, transfer or surrender or abandoning of rights, and to the Directors General the power of administrative execution related thereto,

Whereas:

(1) As stated in Article 191 of the Treaty, the Union policy on the environment is to contribute to pursuit of the objective of preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment, which includes conserving natural habitats and wild fauna and flora.

(2) Directive 92/43/EEC aims to promote the maintenance of biodiversity by taking measures at Union level in order to conserve and restore threatened habitats and species. Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) aims to ensure a far-reaching protection for wild birds and habitats.

(3) Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC are the foundation for an ecological network of designated nature protection sites, known as Natura 2000.

(4) In order to promote this ecological network, a NATURA 2000 logo was designed and endorsed by the Habitats Committee on 15 January 1996. The owner of the copyright of the NATURA 2000 logo is the European Union.

(5) The NATURA 2000 logo is used by the Commission and the Member States to identify a Natura 2000 site and to increase awareness about the network.

(6) It is appropriate to promote the use of the NATURA 2000 logo to communicate the benefits that Natura 2000 can provide to local economies and to build new partnerships between site managers, landowners and users, local businesses, while improving the perception of and increasing support for the Natura 2000 network. It is therefore appropriate to grant a free licence for the use of the NATURA 2000 logo.

(7) However, in order to ensure that the use of the NATURA 2000 logo is used in a such a way that it effectively contributes to the conservation objectives of the Natura 2000 sites and that it is not misused, it is necessary to set out terms for use of the ‘NATURA 2000’ logo,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Sole Article

Upon request from the Member State, the Commission may grant a licence to use the NATURA 2000 logo in accordance with the Licence Agreement set out in the Annex.

Done at Brussels, 4 June 2021.

For the Commission

Florika FINK-HOOIJER

Director-General for Environment

(1)

OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7

(2) Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds (

OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p. 7

ANNEX

to the Commission Decision regarding the licencing of the Natura 2000 logo

LICENCE AGREEMENT

Between:

The European Union

, represented by the European Commission – having its seat at 200, Rue de la Loi, 1000 Brussels, Belgium – itself represented for the purposes of this agreement by Florika FINK-HOOIJER, Director-General for Environment (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Licensor’)

and

[XXXXXXX]

(hereinafter referred to as the ‘Licensee’).

The ‘Licensor’ and ‘Licensee’ are individually referred to as the ‘Party’ and collectively as the ‘Parties’.

With reference to the work (hereinafter the ‘Licensed Material’):

NATURA 2000 logo, as illustrated in the Annex

Whereas:

The European Union (hereinafter the ‘EU’) considers the preservation, protection and improvement of the quality of the environment, including the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, as an essential objective of general interest pursued by the EU, as stated in Article 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

The EU has adopted Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (1) (hereinafter the ‘Habitats Directive’) aiming to promote the maintenance of biodiversity by taking measures at EU level in order to conserve and restore threatened habitats and species.

The EU has adopted Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds (2) (hereinafter the ‘Birds Directive’) aiming to ensure a far-reaching protection for wild birds and their habitats.

The Habitats and Birds Directives are the foundation of an ecological network of designated nature protection sites, known as Natura 2000.

In order to promote this ecological network, a ‘NATURA 2000’ logo was created in line with Article 17(3) of the Habitats Directive. The logo is reproduced in the Annex.

This logo is used by the European Commission and the Member States to identify Natura 2000 sites.

The European Commission and the Member States represented in the Habitats committee set up pursuant to Article 20 of the Habitats Directive have decided to use the ‘NATURA 2000’ logo to communicate on the benefits that Natura 2000 can provide to local economies. Such use of the logo will also help build new partnerships between site managers, landowners, land users and local businesses, while improving the perception of and increasing support for the Natura 2000 network.

The EU asserts that it is the owner of the intellectual property rights, including copyright or design right without limitation, on the ‘NATURA 2000’ logo and is willing to grant Member States a licence to use it under the terms and conditions set out in this Agreement.

The Parties have agreed as follows:

I. GRANT OF LICENCE

Subject to the terms of this Agreement, the Licensor grants the Licensee a non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licensable and conditional right to use, print, publish, reproduce, display and incorporate the Licensed Material in the context of the Natura 2000 network for the purposes set out under Clause II. The Licensee may make the Licensed Material available on any media including print, digital and electronic forms, without prejudice to the copyright of the Licensor.

The Agreement is limited to the territorial jurisdiction of the Licensee.

This Agreement enters into force upon the signature of both Parties and is granted for an indefinite period.

II. CONDITIONS OF LICENCE

The Licensee shall use the Licensed Material for the purpose of implementing the Habitats and Birds Directives, in particular:

(i) to identify areas that are part of the Natura 2000 network since they have been designated as ‘Special Areas of Conservation’ or listed as ‘Sites of Community Importance’ under the Habitats Directive or classified as ‘Special Protection Areas’ under the Birds Directive; or

(ii) to identify measures and actions that directly contribute to the creation, management or promotion of the Natura 2000 network.

The Licensee may also use the Licensed Material in relation to goods and services that:

(i) contribute to the achievement of the conservation objectives of specific Natura 2000 sites, provided that those objectives have been established in accordance with the Habitats and Birds Directives; or

(ii) originate completely or significantly from or are provided in specific Natura 2000 sites and are fully compatible with their conservation objectives, provided that the latter have been established in accordance with the Habitats and Birds Directives.

The Licensee shall not use the Licensed Material in any way that would be detrimental to the purpose of EU legislation and policies or the reputation of EU Institutions.

The Licensee shall neither register the Licensed Material in whole or in part as a trademark nor incorporate it in its own trademarks, in any jurisdiction.

The Licensee shall bear all costs and expenses of carrying out the Licensee’s rights under this Agreement.

III. CONDITIONS OF SUB-LICENCE

The Licensee may sub-license the right to use the Licensed Material within its territory under the same conditions as mentioned in Clause II.

The Licensee shall not allow third parties to register the Licensed Material in whole or in part as a trademark or incorporate it in their own trademarks, in any jurisdiction.

The Licensee shall not allow third parties to use the Licensed Material in a way that would be detrimental to the purpose of EU legislation, policies or the reputation of EU Institutions.

IV. COPYRIGHT

The copyright on the Licensed Material remains with the European Union.

This Agreement is subject to the condition that the Licensee (and any sub-Licensee) include a visible reference to the Licensor’s ownership of the copyright in the Licensed Material as follows:

The rights herein are granted for the full term of the copyright. This Agreement does not extend to the European emblem and/or any other trademark, trade name, logo or graphic device of the European Union. No further rights are granted herein to the Licensee.

V. TERMINATION OF LICENCE

If the Licensee commits a breach of this Agreement, the Parties commit to discuss the issue within twenty (20) working days after written notice by the Licensor. If no solution is found within a reasonable period of time, the Licensor may terminate this Agreement by notice in writing.

VI. INFRINGEMENT BY THIRD PARTIES AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

If the Licensee becomes aware of any use by any third party of the Licensed Material that would be detrimental to the purpose of EU legislation, policies or the reputation of EU Institutions, the Licensee shall immediately notify the Licensor in writing of such use.

The European Commission shall have the right to take appropriate action against such use in close coordination with the Licensee.

The Licensee shall have the right and the obligation to take action against any alleged infringement of the intellectual property rights of the Licensor in the Licensed Material, including the right to sue for copyright infringement, at its sole expense and in its own name.

VII. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION

Any communication between the Parties with reference to the performance of this Agreement, all notifications and any relevant correspondence shall be made in writing and addressed to the following addressees:

For the European Commission, on behalf of the European Union, the person responsible for the implementation of this Agreement is:

[XXXXXXXXXX]

For the Licensee the person responsible for the implementation of this Agreement is:

[XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX]

VIII. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT

Any dispute arising between the Parties concerning any matter relating to this Agreement must be attempted to be resolved in the first instance by the responsible persons for the Parties at Clause VII and should be raised by the disputing Party submitting a notice of the dispute to the other Party.

IX. ENTIRE AGREEMENT

The terms of this Agreement constitute the whole Agreement between the Parties in respect of the subject matter of this Agreement.

Any amendment to the Agreement shall be agreed in writing between the Parties and shall be subject to a formal addendum to this Agreement.

The Parties further agree that neither Party shall rely on any representations, agreements, statements or undertakings made prior to the signature of the Agreement, whether orally or in writing, other than those which have been expressly incorporated in the Agreement.

X. APPLICABLE LAW

This Agreement shall be governed by European Law and supplemented where necessary by the national substantive law of Belgium. Any dispute between the Parties which cannot be settled amicably shall be brought before the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Done in duplicate in Brussels on ….

Signed for the European Commission on behalf of the European Union by:

Signed for the Licensee by:

Annex

LICENSED MATERIAL: NATURA 2000 LOGO

[Bild bitte in Originalquelle ansehen]

(1)

OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7

(2)

OJ L 20, 26.1.2010. p. 7