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A big WELCOME to the Myanmar Trademark Law!
The time has finally come. The long-awaited trademark law will be finally implemented in 2020 in Myanmar. We already had occasion in these past months to talk about the Myanmar Trademark Law.
The Law was signed into law on January 30, 2019, establishing the framework for a comprehensive trademark registration system open to both foreign and domestic trademark owners.
However, the final date of effectiveness of the Trademark Law has not yet been fixed. Predictably, the law's implementation has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as the government recalibrates its focus to deal with public health concerns.
Nevertheless, on August 28, the Ministry of Commerce of Myanmar, issued the Order N. 63/2020 finally announcing that the Soft Opening Period for filing trademark applications under the new trademark registration system will commence on October 1, 2020.
The above is just the first phase of the Opening, which will be followed by the Grand Opening Period in the second phase, whose date of commence is still unknow.
In the past article (Myanmar welcomes of the long-awaited Trademark Law – Part 2) we already explained the news under a technical point of view. We would like now to point out the big difference that in practice the Law is introducing, which are, among others:
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1. A classic application process: the law will introduce standard formality and substantive examination, a publication for oppositions and issuance of a Certificate of Registration. 2. The new definition of the mark: a “mark” will include trademarks, service marks, collective marks, certification marks, 3D marks (shapes and packaging) and geographical indications. Well-known marks and trade names will also be granted protection. 3. Priority claim: the trademark owners will be able to claim priority from any application or registration filed in the Paris Convention country within a period of six months from the first filing. 4. A new “first-to-file” system: Myanmar will shift from a “first-to-use” system to a “first-to-file” system aligning Myanmar with other Asian countries. 5. 10-year validity: registration of a mark is valid for ten years from the trademark application filing date. It can be renewed every ten years for a further 10-year term. 6. Cancellation and invalidation: a trademark registration can be cancelled for non-use or invalidated for non-registrability by third parties. 7. Language: the documents can be submitted either in English or in the local language. |
And more is to come yet.The new trademark law in Myanmar will reorganize the process of trademark registration, prosecution, and litigation. All these changes represent a big step for the Intellectual Property Protection System. But not only.
Indeed, we believe that what above reported constitutes a clear signal from the Myanmar Government which is trying to attract foreign investments into Myanmar.
