Article 3 Registration Certificate of a Trademark
- A trademark may be registered in the name of a legal person or an organization, a physical person or an entrepreneur.
- A certificate on registration shall be granted to a registered trademark (hereinafter, trademark certificate). The certificate shall be granted to the person on whose name the trademark is registered (hereinafter, trademark owner).
- The trademark certificate confirms the fact of registration of a trademark, its priority, as well as the exclusive right of a trademark in respect to the goods listed in the trademark certificate.
Article 4. Exclusive Right to a Trademark
- (1)
- The exclusive right to a trademark shall emanate from the time of its being granted legal
protection and shall belong to its owner.
- (2)
- The owner of a trademark shall have the exclusive right to own, use and dispose of the mark, and
also to prohibit its use by other persons. No person shall have the right to use a trademark protected in
the Republic of Armenia, without the authorization of the owner of the trademark.
- (3)
- The owner of a registered trademark shall have the exclusive right to prohibit third parties from
producing, using, importing, selling and proposing for sale a trademark or a good designated by that
mark, in the process of commercial activity, without his authorization, and also the marketing by other
means or storage for the same purpose of the good designated by the mark or of the trademark, as well
as the performance of the acts envisaged by Article 22(1) and (2) of this Law, if the trademark is
identical or similar to the point of confusion with his trademark and is used in relation to goods
- (a)
- registered under his trademark;
- (b)
- of the same type as goods registered under his trademark.
- (4)
- It shall be forbidden to use, in the process of commercial activity, a particular designation
representing a reproduction, imitation or translation of a designation, similar to the point of confusion
with a trademark recognized and generally known in the Republic of Armenia in relation to specific
goods, and which may be used without the owner’s permission in relation to:
- (a)
- identical goods or those of the same type;
- (b)
- goods not of the same type which, by creating a misleading impression, force a link to be assumed
between these goods and the owner of a well-known trademark, provided that such use may harm the
latter’s interests.
These provisions shall also extend to cases where an essential part of a designation is a reproduction
of such a well-known trademark or its imitation to the point of confusion.
(4.1) Infringement of exclusive rights of a trademark owner (illegal use of a trademark) shall be
deemed the use, without permission of its owner, of a trademark in civil circulation in the Republic of
Armenia or a mark confusingly similar to it for those goods, for identification of which the trademark
is registered or for goods similar thereto, among them the application (presentation) of a trademark or
a mark confusingly similar to it:
a) on goods, labels, packages of those goods, if those goods are produced, sold or proposed for sale,
are exhibited in exhibitions or fairs or are put into the Republic of Armenia civil circulation by other
means or are kept (stored) and (or) are transported or imported into the Republic of Armenia;
b) during providing services or carrying out works;
c) in documents necessary for putting goods into civil circulation;
d) in advertisements and sales proposals of goods;
e) in Internet or other global computer networks, in particular in any addressing means, among them
in domain names.
Those goods, the packages, labels thereof, on which the trademarks are used illegally shall be
considered fake, imitated.
- (5)
- Paragraph 5 of Article 4 is invalid as of 13.01.2003.
- (6)
- Where an agent or representative of an owner of a trademark, which is protected in one of member
states of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (hereinafter the “Paris
Convention”) has filed an application of registration or has registered it in the Republic of Armenia on
his behalf without permission of the mark owner the latter is entitled to:
a) prohibit its registration;
b) demand the cancellation of the registration of the mark if it has already occurred;
c) prohibit the use of the mark by the agent or the representative if he has not given permission for
such a use.
Pursuant to subparagraph (a) of this paragraph the trademark owner may enjoy his right in the process of the application examination until the occurrence of the state registration of the trademark through filing the appropriate request to the Authorized Body.
Article 5. Types of Trademark
- (1)
- Verbal (including words, numbers, letters, names, catchwords), pictorial, three-dimensional (packages of goods, the appearance of the good and the surface), sound and other marks imaging, or a combination thereof, may be registered as a trademark.
- (2)
- A trademark may be registered in any color or combination of colors.
Chapter 2: Registration of a Trademark
Article 6. Application for Registration of a Trademark
- (1)
- An application for registration of a trademark (hereinafter “an application”) shall be filed with the Assigned by the Government of the Republic of Armenia (hereinafter “the Authorized Body”) person (hereinafter—up to the end of this Part—“an applicant”), in the name of whom the registration of a trademark is sought.
- (2)
- An application may also be filed through the representative of the applicant or a patent attorney registered with the Authorized Body.
- (3)
- Foreign legal entities and individual manufacturers shall manage affairs relating to the registration of trademarks, through patent attorneys registered with the Authorized Body. The authority of a patent attorney shall be confirmed by a power of attorney issued by the person in whose name registration of the trademark is requested.
- (4)
- The procedure for certifying and registering patent attorneys shall be established by the Authorized Body.
- (5)
- The activities of patent attorneys shall be governed by the Statute approved by the Government of the Republic of Armenia.
- (6)
- An application shall relate to one trademark only and shall contain:
- (a)
- a request for registration of the trademark, including the applicant’s name and his place of residence or business;
- (b)
- an image of the claimed mark and its description, as well as the color and color combination;
- (c)
- a list of goods grouped in accordance with the classes of the International Classification of Goods and Services, for which registration of the mark is claimed.
- (7)
- The application shall be accompanied by a:
- (a)
- receipt for payment of the requisite fee for filing the application and carrying out an examination;
- (b)
- the regulations for the collective mark, where an application is filed for such a mark;
- (c)
- a document confirming the authority of a patent attorney or a representative (power of attorney), if an application is filed through such an attorney.
- (8)
- The application shall be filed in Armenian. The documents attached to the application may be submitted in another language. In this case, applicants from the Republic of Armenia shall submit their translation into Armenian together with the application and foreign applicants—within two months of the application filing date.
- (9)
- The requirements for application documents shall be established by the Authorized Body.
Priority of a Trademark
7. (1) The priority of a trademark shall be established according to the year, month and day
(hereinafter “ the date”) on which an application is filed with the Authorized Body.
- (2)
- The priority of a trademark may be established according to the date on which the first application
is filed in one of the States parties to the Paris Convention (convention priority), if the application is
filed with the Authorized Body within six months of the date in question.
- (3)
- The priority of a mark displayed among the exhibits at official, or officially recognized,
international exhibitions, on the territory of one of the States parties to the Paris Convention, may be
established according to the date on which the exhibit began to be displayed at the exhibition
(exhibition priority), if the application is filed with the Authorized Body within six months of the date
in question.
- (4)
- An applicant wishing to enjoy the right of convention or exhibition priority shall, when filing an
application or within two months of the day on which the application is filed with the authorized State
body, inform that body accordingly and shall attach documents attesting to the right to this
requirement, or submit these documents to the Authorized Body within three months of the date on
which the application is filed.
- (5)
- The priority of a trademark may be established according to the priority date of a trademark
having international registration, in accordance with the international agreements to which the
Republic of Armenia is a party.
- (6)
- If, in the course of an examination, it is established that designations submitted for registration,
which are identical or similar to the point of confusion, and coincide partially or fully with a list of
goods, have the same priority date, a designation (or one of the designations similar to the point of
confusion) may be registered in relation to the goods coinciding, in the name of one of the applicants,
in accordance with an agreement reached between the applicants.
Applications relating to goods coinciding shall, within six months of the day on which the Authorized
Body receives appropriate notification, be considered to have been withdrawn, if the applicants do not
reach agreement on the registration of the designation relating to the goods coinciding.
Article 8. Examination of an Application
- (1)
- The examination of an application, including a preliminary examination and an examination of the claimed mark shall be carried out by the Authorized Body.
- (2)
- An applicant may, within two months of the day on which the application is filed until a decision is taken thereon, at his own initiative make additions, clarifications and corrections to the application materials.
- (3)
- An applicant may, in the course of an examination until a decision is taken to register a designation, submit a request to change the applicant for the application in question.
- (4)
- If additional materials substantially change the designation submitted for registration, or if the list of goods stated in the application includes goods that are not of the same type, those materials will not be considered and may be filed by the applicant as an independent application. In this case the priority of the mark shall be designated with the receiving date of additional materials if the new application has been filed within three months after that date and the first application is not withdrawn as of its filing date.
- (5)
- During an examination the Authorized Body may request the applicant to provide additional materials without which the examination cannot be carried out. The additional materials shall be
submitted within two months of the day on which the relevant request is received.
- (6)
- The period in question may, at the applicant’s request, be extended by a maximum of six months, provided the request to extend the period has been received before the end of the two months referred to above. Where the requested materials are not submitted within the prescribed period, the application shall be considered to have been withdrawn and the applicant shall be informed accordingly.
- (7)
- An application may, at the applicant’s request, be withdrawn at any stage of the examination.
- (8)
- Where a trademark registration is sought for two or more goods, the applicant may, before the decision on trademark registration is made, as well as during the appellation process of the examination decision according to Article 13 of this Law, file a request on dividing the application in two or more applications (split applications) through sharing the goods among the split applications. In this case the split applications preserve the filing dates of the first application and the priority date of the mark sought.
Article 9. Preliminary Examination
- (1)
- The preliminary examination of an application shall be conducted within one month of the day on
which the application is filed. In cases where a request is submitted, in accordance with Article 8(5) of
this Law, the period in question shall be interrupted until such time as a response is received.
- (2)
- In the course of preliminary examination the presence of documents necessary and meeting the
stated requirements are examined. In case the application does not meet the stated requirements the
applicant is requested to provide corrected or missing documents within a period of two months,
applying the provisions of Article 8 (6) of this Law.
In case the application meets the stated requirements the Authorized Body states the date of filing the
application and takes a decision on taking the application for examination.
- (3)
- The Authorized Body states the date of filing of the application with the date of receiving the
following data and elements:
1) an application from which it is obvious or may be supposed that registration of trademark is
claimed,
2) a designation allowing to identify the applicant,
3) a designation allowing to contact the applicant or his patent attorney or representative, if any,
4) the sufficiently clear image of the trademark for which registration is claimed,
5) the list of goods and/or services for which registration is claimed,
6) the payment receipt for filing of the application.
In case the mentioned data and elements are not received at the same time the Authorized Body shall
state the date of filing of the application by the date of receiving of the last datum.
Article 10. Examination of a Claimed Designation
- (1)
- A claimed designation shall be examined within six months of the completion of the preliminary examination. During the examination, the priority of the trademark shall be established and it shall be verified whether the claimed designation meets at least the requirements of Article 11 and Article 12(1) of this Law.
- (2)
- On the basis of the outcome of an examination, a decision shall be taken to register the claimed trademark for all goods or some of them mentioned in the application or to refuse its registration.
- (3)
- The applicant may, within two months of the day on which a decision to refuse to register a designation is received, submit a request for re-examination and shall provide details of the justification therefore.
- (4)
- The period in question may, at the applicant’s request, be extended by a maximum of six months, if the request to extend the period has been received before the end of the two months referred to above.
- (5)
- An examination decision to register a designation may be reviewed by the Authorized Body as a result of the receipt of an application for a designation enjoying an earlier priority and identical or similar to the point of confusion, in relation to goods of the same type or in connection with the registration of an appellation of origin.
Article 11. Absolute Grounds for Refusal of Trademark Registration
1. A trademark cannot be registered if it consists of such signs that have not distinctive features and
consist elements that:
a) have come into general use as signs characterizing a definite type of goods,
b) are well-known symbols and terms;
c) indicate the type, kind, quality, quantity, properties and value of goods, purpose of creation of
goods, as well as the place and time of production and distribution thereof;
f) exclusively represent the outward form of the good, which:
- -
- derives essentially from the nature of the product;
- -
- is necessary for achieving any technical effect and characterizes the function of the good;
- -
- gives a substantial value to the good.
The signs specified in the paragraphs "a" to "d" of this paragraph may be included in the trademark as
non-protect able elements, if they do not constitute the predominant part of the mark
The requirements of this paragraph shall not apply to marks which have obtained distinctive features
in the result of using.
- A trademark cannot be registered, according to international treaties, if it reproduces state
Emblems, flags and national symbols, full or abbreviated names of international organizations,
official emblems and hallmarks denoting control and guarantee, seals, rewards and other
distinguishing signs or signs which confusingly resemble with the mentioned ones. Such signs may be
included in the trademark as a non-protected element with the consent of the owner or a relevant
authorized body;
(Article 11.1 is supplemented on 21.12.2004)
- (Article 11.2 has no effect from 21.12.2004)
3.As trademark cannot be registered also signs imparting or containing: a) Information that leads or is susceptible to lead the consumer in confusion with regard to the product or the manufacturer, b) A geographical indication and are filed for goods that are not originated from the area bearing this indication, if the use of the said indication is susceptible to lead the consumer in confusion as for the real origin of the product; c) A geographical indication ascertaining wines, for wines not originated from the area bearing the geographical indication specified or a geographical indication ascertaining spirits, for sprits not originated from the area bearing the geographical indication specified, even if the real origin of the product is indicated or the geographical indication is used in a translated version or in conjunction with such expressions as "sort", "type", "style", "imitation" and others.
- Signs likewise cannot be registered as trademark if:
a)are contrary to public interest, principles of humanity and morality or rules for preventing unfair
competition (customs of commence).
b) are incompatible with the national or spiritual values
- The provisions of this article, paragraph 1, sub-paragraph "f", as for the production area of products
(geographical indication), do not apply to collective marks registered according to article 21 of the
present Law.
Article 12. Other Grounds for Refusal of Trademark Registration
- Signs identical or confusingly similar to the following cannot be registered as trademarks:
a) a trademark already registered in the name of another person or filed for registration with an earlier
priority in the Republic of Armenia, for identical or similar goods (if the applications are not
withdrawn or refused);
b) trademarks already registered in the name of other persons protected without registration with an
earlier priority, according to international treaties, for identical or similar goods;
c) trademarks of other persons being considered well-known, protected for the identical or similar
goods in the Republic of Armenia, according to this Law;
d) an appellation of origin of goods or geographical indication being protected in the Republic of
Armenia, with the exception of cases when they are included as a non protected element in a
trademark of persons having the right to use the said appellation;
e) certification, collective or guarantee marks registered in a prescribed procedure.
f) trade names, protected in the Republic of Armenia, if the right to use the trade name was acquired
before the priority date of a trademark filed for registration for similar goods;
(second part of item f) is cancelled).
- Shall not also be registered as trademarks which reproduce the following:
a) (Article 12.2 sub-paragraph "a” is cancelled on 21.12.2004)
b) Industrial designs with an earlier priority, the right for the use of which in the Republic of Armenia
belongs to other persons;
c) Works and titles of works of science, literature and art, or citations and fragment, heroes from
them, well known in the Republic of Armenia, without the consent of the owner of copyright, if that
rights are obtained before the priority date of that trademark;
this sub-paragraph shall not to those woks of art or citations or heroes from them, which are
geographical indications.
d) Names, surnames, pseudonyms and their derivatives, portraits or facsimile of known personalities,
without the permission of those personalities, their heirs or the permission given in prescribe
procedure by the Government of the Republic of Armenia,
e) portraits of people without their consent or the consent of their heirs.
- The consent of the trademark owner indicated in sub-paragraphs “a”, “b” or “c” of this article may
be ground for registration of a trademark confusingly similar to that mark in a procedure prescribed
by the authorized body
- (Paragraph 4 is cancelled).
- The provisions of the paragraph 1 of this article shall not apply to identical geographical
appellations for ascertainment of wines, if they are accompanied in conjunction with complementary
distinctive elements, provided that the requirements set forth in the article 11, paragraph 3, subparagraph "b", of this Law are observed.
Article 13. Appeals Against Examiners’ Decisions and Renewal of Deadlines Missed by Applicants
- (1)
- Where he does not agree with the decision taken as a result of a preliminary or re-examination, an applicant may, within three months of the day on which he receives the decision, submit an appeal to the Authorized Body Board of Appeal (hereinafter “the Board of Appeal”).
- (2)
- The Board of Appeal may examine an appeal in accordance with the procedure established by the Authorized Body.
- (3)
- Where he does not agree with the decision taken as a result of a preliminary or re-examination, or a decision reached by the Board of Appeal, an applicant may refer the matter to the courts in accordance with the established legal procedure.
- (4)
- An applicant may familiarize himself with the materials indicated in an examiner’s decision. The applicant may, within one month of the day on which the decision is received, request copies of these materials if they are not attached to the above decision.
- (5)
- On the basis of a request filed by the applicant, the Authorized Body may renew the deadline provided for by Article 8(3) and (6) of this Law and paragraphs (1) and (3) of this article, and missed by the applicant, within three months of its expiry, provided that the prescribed fee is paid.
Article 14. Registration of a Trademark
The Authorized Body shall, on the basis of a decision to register a trademark within one month of receiving a receipt for payment of the prescribed fee, enter a trademark in the State Register of Trademarks of the Republic of Armenia (hereinafter—up to the end of this Part—“the Register”). The Register shall contain the trademark image, information on its owner, the priority date and registration of the trademark, a list of goods for which the trademark is registered, and other information approved by the Authorized Body, as well as subsequent amendments thereto. The registration date of a trademark shall be considered its actual state registration date in the Register.
Article 15. Issue of a Trademark Certificate
A trademark certificate shall be issued by the Authorized Body within one month of the day on which the trademark is entered in the Register. The form of the certificate and a list of the information contained therein shall be determined by the Authorized Body.
Article 16. Period of Validity of Trademark Registration and Registration Split
- (1)
- The registration of a trademark shall be valid for 10 years from the filing date of the application with the Authorized Body.
- (2)
- The period of validity of trademark registration may be extended repeatedly, on each occasion for 10 years. The validity of trademark registration shall be extended at the request of its owner, filed during the final year of the current period of validity of registration.
- (3)
- The validity of the registration may also be extended at the request of the trademark owner, filed within six months of the expiry of the period of validity of the trademark’s registration, provided that an additional fee has been paid.
- (4)
- The Authorized Body shall enter in the Register details of the extension of the period of validity of registration of a trademark and, at the owner’s request, in the trademark certificate. The Authorized Body shall within a period of three months publish information on renewal of
trademark registration validity in its Official Bulletin.
- (5)
- Where a trademark is registered for two or more goods during the validation period of its registration as well as during the process of recognizing the registration invalid in accordance with Article 28 of this Law the owner of the mark may file an application with the Authorized Body on splitting that registration into two or more registrations (split registration) through sharing those goods among the split registrations. In this case the split registrations preserve the filing dates of the first registration and the priority date of the mark sought.
Article 17. Entry of Amendments in the Register
- (1)
- A trademark owner shall inform the Authorized Body of any change in the name, a reduction in the list of goods. The trademark owner may as well inform the Authorized Body about change in the individual non-substantive elements (name of the owner, place of residence or location, size of the good, volume, quantity, ingredients) of the trademark, without changing the essence.
- (2)
- Amendments shall be entered in the Register and a trademark certificate shall be issued at the request of the trademark owner, provided that the prescribed fee has been paid. Publication of Registration Information
- The Authorized Body shall publish information relating to the registration of a trademark and provided for by Article 14 of this Law, in its official journal and within three months of the day of registration. Registration of a Trademark Abroad
- (1) Legal persons and individual manufacturers in the Republic of Armenia may register a trademark abroad or register it internationally.
(2) An application for international registration of a trademark shall be filed through the Authorized Body.
Chapter 3: Collective Mark
Article 20. Collective Mark
- (1)
- A trademark of any economic association, intended to designate goods possessing combined qualitative or other general characteristics, and manufactured and/or produced thereby shall be regarded as a collective mark.
- (2)
- A collective mark and the entitlement to its use shall not be assigned. Registration of a Collective Mark
21. (1) The regulations for a collective mark shall be attached to an application for registration of such a mark and shall contain the name of an economic association, the name of a legal person authorized to register the collective mark in their own name, a list of legal persons entitled to use this mark, the purpose of registration, the names of the goods designated by the collective mark, and their combined qualitative or other general characteristics, conditions of use of the collective mark, procedure for monitoring its use, and responsibility for infringing the regulations of the collective mark.
- (2)
- In addition to the information provided for by Article 14 of this Law, details of the legal persons entitled to use a collective mark shall also be entered in the Register and the Certificate. These details, together with extracts from the regulations on the goods possessing common qualitative or other
general characteristics, for which the collective mark is registered, shall be published in the Authorized Body’s Official Journal.
- (3)
- The owner of a collective mark shall inform the Authorized Body of any amendments made to the collective mark regulations.
- (4)
- In cases where a collective mark is used on goods which do not have common qualitative or other general characteristics, the validity of registration may be terminated prematurely either in full or in part, on a court decision based on a request by any person.
- (5)
- A collective mark or application therefore in accordance with the procedure established by the Authorized Body may correspondingly be converted into a trademark or an application for such a mark of a legal person or individual manufacturer, and vice versa.
Chapter 3.1 Legal Protection of Well-Known Marks
Article 21.1 Well-known Trademark
- A trademark may be recognized well-known in the Republic of Armenia based on the application of a natural person or legal entity, which is granted protection based on registration in the order prescribed by this law, by virtue of the Republic of Armenia international agreements, as well as a trademark used but not protected in the Republic of Armenia.
- A trademark of a particular person mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be recognized well-known for certain goods if as a result of broad use of those goods it has, as of the indicated date, recognized well-known within a certain circle of public, as a distinguishing (identification) feature of the mentioned goods.
- A trademark may not be recognized well known if it has become well- known for similar goods after the priority date of similar or confusingly similar marks protected in the Republic of Armenia.
Article 21.2 Legal Protection of Well-known Trademark
- According to paragraph 1 Article 21.1 of this Law an application on recognizing a mark well know shall be considered by the Board of Appeal. The form of the request, the attached documents and requirements thereto as well as the order of the request consideration shall be defined by the Authorized Body.
- (Paragraph 2 is cancelled).
- The well-known trademark shall be included into the list of trademarks recognized well known in the Republic of Armenia (hereinafter “list”) by the Authorized Body. The list shall include the trademark recognized as well-known, the name of its owner, and the place of residence or location, the date of being recognized as well-known, as well as the goods for which that mark is recognized well-known.
- The well-known trademark certificate shall be granted by the Authorized Body within one month after including the well known mark in the list. The form of the certificate and the list of information to be mentioned therein shall be defined by the Authorized Body.
- The legal protection to a well-known trademark shall be granted without time limit.
- The Authorized Body shall within three months after the date of including the information provided in paragraph 3 of this Article in the list publish it in its Official Bulletin.
Article 21.3 Volume of Legal Protection of Well-known Trademark
- The trademark recognized as well-know is granted legal protection as that granted to trademarks under this Law.
- The protection granted to the well-known trademark is not limited by time.
- The protection granted to the well-known trademark shall as well extend to the goods which are not similar to goods mentioned in Article 21.1 (2), if the use of a trademark or a mark confusingly similar to the well-known mark by a third person supposes relation between those goods and the goods belonging to the owner of the well-known trademark, taking into account the fact that such a use may prejudice the interests of the owner of the well-known trademark.
- Pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Article the owner of the well-known trademark has the right to submit a claim to the court to withdraw partly or in whole the validity of the trademark identical or confusingly similar to his mark, if his mark has a priority date of being recognized as well-known. In such case the permanent use of that trademark to produced goods or provided services during three years prior to the claim shall serve as a bases for refusal of the claim.
- Pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Article the owner of the well-known trademark has the right to prohibit third persons, in the order established by this Law, the use of a trademark identical or confusingly similar to his mark and the use of the trademark registered by priority date mentioned in paragraph 4 of this Article if that mark was used no more than three years as well as the use of a nonregistered trademark.
Chapter 4: Use of a Trademark
Article 22. Use of a Trademark and the Consequences of its Non-Use
- (1)
- A trademark shall be considered to be used when it is placed on goods for which the trademark is registered, and/or their packaging.
- (2)
- A trademark shall also be considered to be used when it is applied in advertising, publications, and also official forms, signboards, displays of exhibits at exhibitions and fairs organized in the Republic of Armenia, only in cases where the mark cannot be displayed on goods and/or their packaging.
- (3)
- Legal persons and individual manufacturers acting as intermediaries may, on the basis of an agreement, use their trademark in addition to that of the manufacturer of the goods or instead of it.
4. The validity of a trademark registration may, on the bases of a request from any person, by the decision of the Board of Appeal, be terminated prematurely in relation to all the goods for which it is registered, or to a part of them, if within five years after the date of registration, or in the case of later filing within five years preceding to it, the mark has not been used or has been used in a non-reasonable volume by the holder or person with such an entitlement, according to a licensing agreement and pursuant to Article 26 of this Law. The evidence of use of the trademark shall be provided by the holder or by a person entitled to use the mark by licensing agreement. The decision of the Board of Appeal may be appealed in the court within six months after the decision is taken.
- (5)
- The validity of the registration of a trademark may not, based on paragraph 4 of this Article, be terminated in relation to all goods or part thereof, if:
- (a)
- the trademark owner or person entitled to use the trademark has cited reasons relating to the fact that the non-use of the trademark is the result of circumstances which are insurmountable, unforeseen and beyond his control;
- (b)
- the trademark was used by its owner or by a person entitled to use it such that it differs from that registered only in relation to individual elements which do not change its distinguishing features;
- (c)
- in the Republic of Armenia the trademark was placed on goods and/or their packaging exclusively for export purposes.
- (6)
- (Paragraph 6 is cancelled).
Article 23. Restriction of Rights of a Trademark Owner
- (1)
- The owner of a trademark may not prohibit third persons from using, in the process of commercial activity:
- (a)
- their title (name, pseudonym) or address;
- (b)
- designations characterizing the form, quality, quantity, cost, purpose of creation (provision) and other features of a good, and also designations characterizing the time and place of production and manufacture (provision) of a good;
- (c)
- a trademark, where this is required to indicate the purpose of creation (provision) of a good, in particular as auxiliary or spare parts, if they are used without harming the lawful interests of the trademark owner and of third persons, and without misleading the user.
- (2)
- The owner of a registered trademark may not prohibit the use by other persons of a given mark in relation to goods which the mark owner introduced, or which were introduced with his consent, into the economy in any country with this designation, if the characteristics of these goods in the marketing process were not subject to change either naturally or as a result of interference.
Article 24. Preventive Labeling
A trademark owner may place, next to the trademark, a preventive mark confirming registration of the trademark in question in the Republic of Armenia—in the form of an ® in a circle or the individual Latin letter R, or also in the form of the expressions “Trademark” or “Registered trademark.”
Chapter 5: Transfer of a Trademark
Article 25. Assignment of a Trademark
A trademark may be assigned by agreement to other persons for all the goods, or a number thereof, stated in the trademark certificate. The assignment of a trademark shall not be permitted, where this might be the reason for misleading the user as regards the good itself or its manufacturer.
Article 26. Permission to Use a Trademark
- (1)
- A trademark owner (licensor) may, on the basis of a licensing agreement, give another person (licensee) permission to use the trademark.
- (2)
- The licensing agreement shall indicate that the quality of the licensee’s good shall not yield to the quality of the licensor’s good and that the licensor shall monitor compliance with this requirement.
- (3)
- Permission to use a trademark shall not be given, where this may be the cause of the user being misled as regards the place where the good is produced.
Article 27. Registration of an Agreement to Assign a Trademark and a Licensing Agreement
An agreement to assign a trademark and a licensing agreement shall be registered with the Authorized
Body. An unregistered agreement shall be considered invalid.
Decisions relating to agreements to assign a trademark and licensing agreements may be appealed in
the Board of Appeal and (or) by a court procedure.
Article 28. . Recognition of Legal Protection of Trademark as Invalid
- (1)
- The registration of a trademark or granting of legal protection to it in the Republic of Armenia based on its international registration may be appealed and recognized invalid: a) totally or partially during the whole period of its validity, if it is provided in contravention of the requirements of Articles 11 of this Law, or within 5 years after the publication of the information on granting of legal protection to the trademark in the Official Bulletin if the legal protection is granted in contravention of the requirements of Articles 12 of this Law b) totally, during the whole period of legal protection, if it is granted in contravention of the requirements of paragraph 1 of Articles 3 of this Law c) totally, during the whole period of legal protection, if it is granted in any of member states of the Paris Convention in the name of the agent or representative of the trademark holder without permission of the latter.
- (2)
- Recognition of a trademark as well known in the Republic of Armenia may be appealed and recognized invalid totally or partially within the period of its legal protection if it is in contradiction with the requirements of Article 21.1 of this Law.
- (3)
- The appeal having the bases and time limit provided by subparagraphs “a” and “b” of paragraph 1 of this Article may be submitted to the Board of Appeal by any person. The appeal having the bases and time limit provided by subparagraph “c” of paragraph 1 of this Article may be submitted to the Board of Appeal by a person who is the holder of the mark in any member states of the Paris Convention. The appeal for recognizing a trademark well known with the bases and time limit provided by paragraph 2 of this Article to the Board of Appeal may be submitted by any person. Any decision taken by the Board of Appeal on claims submitted according to this paragraph may be appealed in the court procedure within six months after the decision is taken.
4. (Paragraph 4 is cancelled).
Chapter 6: Termination of Legal Protection of a Trademark
Article 28. Recognition of Trademark Registration as Invalid
- (1)
- The registration of a trademark may be recognized as invalid either fully or partially during the whole of the period of its validity, if it is produced in contravention of the requirements of Articles 3 and 11 of this Law, or used dishonestly, in particular in accordance with Article 6septies of the Paris Convention, and also within five years of the day on which information on the registration of the trademark is published in the Official Journal—based on the requirements of Article 12 of this Law.
- (2)
- Any natural or legal person may submit an appeal to the Board of Appeal regarding recognition of the registration of a trademark as invalid. The Board of Appeal shall examine the appeal in accordance with the procedure established by the Authorized Body.
- (3)
- An Board of Appeal decision may, within six months of the day in which it is taken, be challenged in the courts.
- (4)
- In accordance with paragraph (1) of this article, the registration of a trademark may be recognized
as invalid either fully or partially, also at the Authorized Body’s instigation and according to the procedure approved thereby.
Article 29. Cancellation of Registration and Re-registration of a Trademark and Termination of Legal Protection
- (1)
- The Authorized Body shall cancel the registration of a trademark in the following cases:
- (a)
- the period of validity of trademark registration, provided for by Article 16 of this Law, has
expired;
- (b)
- in accordance with Article 21(4) of this Law, on a court decision the registration of a collective
mark is terminated prematurely as a result of the use of the collective mark on goods which do not
have common qualitative or other general characteristics;
- (c)
- in accordance with Article 22(4) of this Law, on a court decision the validity of a trademark is
terminated prematurely as a result of the trademark not being used;
- (d)
- registration of a trademark is recognized as invalid—in accordance with Article 28 of this Law;
- (e)
- the trademark owner goes into liquidation;
- (f)
- following a request by any person, on a court decision a trademark is recognized as having been
converted into a designation and as having become generally used to designate goods of a particular
type;
- (g)
- in connection with the registration of an appellation of origin for a good identical or confusingly
similar to the trademark, if within one year after registration of the appellation of origin the trademark
holder is not granted a right to use the appellation of origin for that good;
- (h)
- the owner of the trademark has rejected the said mark.
1.1 The legal protection of a trademark shall be terminated if:
a) the registration of a mark has been withdrawn pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article;
b) the granting of the legal protection to a trademark has been recognized invalid pursuant to Article
28 of this Law.
- The legal protection of a trademark recognized well known in the Republic of Armenia shall be
terminated pursuant to subparagraphs “b”-“g” of paragraph 1 of this Article as well as pursuant to
paragraph 2 of Article 28 of this Law, where recognizing a trademark well known in the Republic of
Armenia is withdrawn.
The legal protection of a well-known trademark may be terminated also according to the decision of
the Board of Appeal in the case of review of conditions necessary for recognizing a mark well known.
The above appeal may be submitted to the Board of Appeal by any person.
- Paragraph 2 of Article 29 has no effect as of 21.12.2004
Section 2 - APPELLATION OF ORIGIN
Chapter 7: Appellation of Origin and its Legal Protection
Article 30. Appellation of Origin
- (1)
- An appellation of origin (hereinafter “appellation”) shall be the name of a country, populated area, locality or other geographical location (hereinafter “geographical location”), used to designate a good, the particular features of which are exclusively or mainly defined by natural conditions and/or human factors characteristic of the geographical location in question.
- (2)
- The appellation may be the historical name of a geographical location.
- (3)
- A name which, although constituting or containing the name of a geographical location, has not come into general use in the Republic of Armenia as a means of expressing the designation of a particular type of good, unconnected with the place in which it is produced, shall not be recognized as an appellation.
Article 31. Legal Protection of an Appellation
- (1)
- Legal protection for an appellation in the Republic of Armenia shall be granted on the basis of its registration in accordance with the procedure established by this Law, or in accordance with the international agreements to which the Republic of Armenia is party.
- (2)
- The appellation shall be protected by law.
- (3)
- The appellation may be filed for registration by:
- (a)
- one or more legal persons or individual manufacturers producing the good in question in the locality indicated in the application;
- (b)
- organizations protecting users’ rights;
- (c)
- other competent authorities involved in the production of the good in question.
- (4)
- A legal person or individual manufacturer filing an appellation for registration shall be entitled to use it, if the good he produces meets the requirements of Article 30(1) of this Law.
- (5)
- The right to use this appellation, registered in accordance with the established procedure, may be granted to any legal person or individual manufacturer producing the good in the same geographical location and with the same features.
- (6)
- Registration of the appellation shall be valid indefinitely.
- (7)
- A name, which designates the geographical location of actual production of a good and gives the user a false impression as to how the good appears to have been produced in another geographical location of the same name, shall not be subject to legal protection as an appellation of origin.
- (8)
- In the case of geographical designations of the same name which individualize wines, each shall be subject to legal protection, if they contain appropriate distinguishing additions, and provided that the requirements of paragraph (5) of this article and the rightful interests of producers have been satisfied.
Chapter 8: Registration and Provision of the Right to Use an Appellation
Article 32. An Application for Registration and the Right to Use an Appellation
- (1)
- An application for registration and/or the right to use an appellation (hereinafter “an application”) shall be filed with the Authorized Body by legal persons and/or individual manufacturers (hereinafter “an applicant”), indicated in Article 31(3) of this Law.
- (2)
- An application may be filed in accordance with the procedure established by Article 6(2) of this Law, in accordance with the requirements of paragraphs (3) to (5).
- (3)
- An application shall relate to a single appellation and shall contain:
- (a)
- a request for registration and/or provision of the right to use the appellation, containing details of the applicant and his place of business or residence;
- (b)
- the claimed appellation;
- (c)
- an indication of the good for which registration and/or provision of the right to use the appellation are requested, with an indication of the name of the place (geographical location) in which the good is produced;
- (d)
- documents clearly identifying the borders of the geographical location, in relation to which the appellation is applied;
- (e)
- a description of the particular features (basic physical, chemical, microbiological and/or organoleptic characteristics) of the good (where necessary—also of the raw materian( �
- (f)
- where necessary—a description of the local original method by which the good is produced;
- (g)
- details of special labeling connected with the appellation.
- (4)
- The following shall be attached to the application:
- (a)
- for applicants from the Republic of Armenia—a certificate from the local government authority stating that the applicant is in the geographical location in question and produces the good, the special features of which are defined by natural conditions and/or human factors characteristic of the geographical location in question (for the applicants indicated in Article 31(3)(a) of this Law);
- (b)
- for foreign applicants—a document attesting to their right to use an appellation in the country in which the good originates;
- (c)
- a receipt for payment of the prescribed fee for filing an application and conducting an examination;
- (d)
- a document confirming the capacity of a patent attorney (power of attorney), if the application is filed through such an attorney.
- (5)
- An application shall be filed in Armenian. The documents attached to the application may be filed in a different language. In this case, applicants from the Republic of Armenia shall be obliged to submit their translation into Armenian together with the application, and foreign applicants—within two months of the day on which the application is filed.
- (6)
- The requirements for application documents shall be established by the Authorized Body.
Article 33. Examination of an Application
- (1)
- An application shall be examined, including a preliminary examination and examination of the claimed appellation, by the Authorized Body.
- (2)
- An applicant may, from the day on which the application is filed with the Authorized Body until a decision is taken on it, make amendments, clarifications and corrections to the application materials at his own initiative.
- (3)
- If the additional materials change substantively the appellation filed for registration, these materials shall not be considered and may be established by the applicant as a separate application.
- (4)
- During the examination, the Authorized Body may request from the applicant additional materials, without which the examination cannot be conducted. The additional materials shall be filed within two months of the day on which the request is received.
- (5)
- At the applicant’s request, the period in question may be extended by not more than six months, if the request to extend the period has been received prior to the expiry of the aforementioned two-month period. Where the requested materials are not submitted within the prescribed period, the application shall be considered to have been withdrawn.
- (6)
- The preliminary examination of the application shall be conducted within one month of the day on which the application is filed with the Authorized Body. Where the request is dispatched in accordance with paragraph (4) of this article, the period in question shall be interrupted until such time as a response is received.
- (7)
- During the preliminary examination the content of the application shall be verified, along with the presence of the requisite documents, and also their compliance with the established requirements. On the basis of the results of the preliminary examination, the applicant shall be informed as to whether the application will be considered.
- (8)
- According to the application considered, an examination of the claimed appellation shall be conducted, during which its compliance with the requirements of Article 30 of this Law shall be verified.
- (9)
- Following the examination, the Authorized Body shall take a decision to register the appellation and to provide the right to use it, or to refuse to register the appellation and not to provide the right to use the previously registered appellation.
- (10)
- Where the applicant does not agree with an examination decision, he may, within two months of the day on which he receives the decision, file a request for a re-examination to be carried out, and shall explain the relevant grounds.
- (11)
- The period in question may, at the applicant’s request, be extended by not more than six months, if the request to extend the period has been received prior to expiry of the aforementioned two-month period.
- (12)
- At the applicant’s request, an application may be withdrawn at any stage of the examination.
Article 34. Appeal Against an Examiner’s Decision and Renewal of Deadlines Missed by the Applicant
- (1)
- Where he does not agree with any decision based on examination, an applicant may, within three months of the day on which he receives the decision, submit an appeal to the Board of Appeal. The Board of Appeal shall examine the appeal in accordance with the procedure approved by the Authorized Body.
- (2)
- Where he does not agree with any decision based on examination, or a decision taken by the Board of Appeal, an applicant shall have the right to submit a claim to the court within six months after receiving the decision. The Authorized Body may renew the deadline provided for by Article 33(4) and paragraph (1) of this article, and missed by the applicant, within three months of its expiry, based on a request filed by the applicant and subject to payment of the prescribed fee.
Article 35. Grounds for Refusing to Register an Appellation
A name may not be registered as an appellation of origin, which:
- (a)
- has been filed for registration by persons lacking the requisite authorization;
- (b)
- does not meet the requirements of Article 30 of this Law;
- (c)
- is identical or similar to the point of confusion to an appellation already registered or filed for registration in the Republic of Armenia, for goods of the same type;
- (d)
- is not compatible with the interests of society, principles of humanity and morality, or the customs of fair competition (business practice);
- (e)
- subparagraph “e” of this Article has no effect as of 21.12.2004;
- (f)
- is not protected, the protection of which has been terminated, or whose use is not permitted in the
country of origin;
- (g)
- is misleading, in particular as regards the character, quality or geographical origin of the good, even if the appellation is literally authentic according to the sense of the geographical location of origin of the good (in the case of identical appellations), but creates a false impression for the user whereby the good has been produced in a different geographical location. In the case of identical names, an appellation may be registered, if on the mark of the good some kind of distinguishing feature is clearly and visibly displayed, so as to preclude the user from being misled, for example by the name of the country or region of origin.
Article 36. Registration of an Appellation and Issue of a Certificate for the Right to use the Appellation
- (1)
- The Authorized Body shall, on the basis of a decision to register an appellation and within one month of receiving a receipt for payment of the prescribed fee, enter the appellation in the State Register of Appellations of Origin of the Republic of Armenia (hereinafter “the Register”). The Register shall contain the appellation, the particulars of the holder of the certificate for the right to use the appellation (hereinafter “the certificate”), the designation of the good for which the appellation in question is registered, a description of its particular features, other information according to a list drawn up by the Authorized Body relating to the registration and provision of the right to use the appellation, and also subsequent changes to the information.
- (2)
- The certificate shall be issued by the Authorized Body within one month of the day on which the appellation is entered in the Register.
- (3)
- The form of the certificate and the content of the information contained therein shall be determined by the Authorized Body.
Article 37. Period of Validity of a Certificate for the Right to use an Appellation
- (1)
- A certificate shall be valid for a period of 10 years from the date on which the application is filed with the Authorized Body.
- (2)
- The period of validity of a certificate may, at the request of its holder, be extended repeatedly, on each occasion for 10 years, if certificates from the appropriate competent authorities are submitted together with the request, concerning the fact that the certificate holder is in the geographical location in question and that the good with the features indicated in the certificate is produced. A request to extend the period of validity of the certificate shall be submitted during the final year of the current period of its validity.
- (3)
- The period of validity of a certificate may also be extended at the request of the holder, submitted within six months of the expiry of the certificate’s period of validity, provided that an additional fee has been paid.
- (4)
- The Authorized Body shall enter details of the extension of the period of a certificate’s validity in the Register and, at the holder’s request, on the certificate.
Article 38. Inclusion of Amendments in the Register
- (1)
- A certificate holder shall inform the Authorized Body of a change in his appellation or family name, first name and patronymic, as well as of changes relating to the registration of and right to use the appellation.
- (2)
- Changes shall be entered in the Register and on a certificate at the request of the certificate holder,
provided that the prescribed fee has been paid.
Article 39. Publication of Information on the Registration and Provision of the Right to Use an Appellation
The Authorized Body shall, within three months of the day of registration, publish in its Official Journal, information concerning an appellation and entered in the Register in accordance with
Article 36 of this Law (excluding information relating to special features of a good).
Article 40. Registration of an Appellation Abroad
- (1)
- Legal persons and individual manufacturers in the Republic of Armenia may register an appellation abroad.
- (2)
- An application for registration of an appellation abroad shall be filed following the registration and acquisition of the right to use the appellation in the Republic of Armenia.
Chapter 9: Use of an Appellation
Article 41. Use of an Appellation
- (1)
- The use of an appellation shall be considered to be its application on a good and packaging, in advertising, pamphlets, invoices, forms and also other documentation linked to the introduction of the good into the economy.
- (2)
- Any use of an appellation which, in accordance with Article 10bis of the Paris Convention, may be qualified as an act of unfair competition, shall not be permitted.
- (3)
- The use of any means which makes a relevant indication or which gives the user the impression that the good in question has been produced in a different geographical location, rather than the actual location in which it was produced, shall not be permitted for the purposes of designating or displaying goods.
- (4)
- The use of a registered appellation by persons who do not possess an appropriate certificate, even if the genuine place of origin of a good is indicated or an appellation is used in translation or in combination with such expressions as “kind,” “type,” “imitation,” and the like, shall not be permitted, just as the use of an identical designation for any good which may mislead the user as regards the place of origin and special features of the good shall not be allowed.
- (5)
- In the case of identical names, an appellation of origin may be used, if it is combined with some clearly and visibly displayed distinguishing feature, which precludes the user from being misled as regards, for example, the name of the country or region of origin.
- (6)
- Any legal person or individual manufacturer may, in the process of commercial activity, use:
- (a)
- a registered appellation for goods introduced into the economy in any country by a person in possession of a certificate for the use of the appellation, if in the marketing process the characteristics of these goods were not changed naturally or by way of interference;
- (b)
- his name and address or the name and address of the predecessor in title’s right to manufacture, where this does not mislead society as regards the geographical origin of the good.
- (7)
- An appellation may, within three years of the day on which it is registered in the Republic of Armenia, be used by the owner of a trademark identical or similar to the point of confusion with the
appellation, if it is registered no later than six months prior to the day on which the appellation was registered. During the period in question, any person may use, in the process of commercial activity, a registered appellation for goods introduced into the economy in any country by the owner of the trademark in question or with his consent, if in the marketing process the characteristics of these goods have not been changed naturally or by way of interference.
- (8)
- The citizens of the Republic of Armenia or natural and legal persons permanently resident or residing in the country, and who have used in the Republic of Armenia geographical designations from another country, which individualize wines or alcoholic drinks and are connected with goods and services:
- (a)
- uninterruptedly for a minimum of 10 years, prior to April 15, 1994, or
- (b)
- in good faith before April 15, 1994 may use or continue to use in such a way in the Republic of Armenia the geographical designations in question for goods and services of the same type.
- (9)
- Persons who lawfully or honestly use geographical designations which, on the territory of the Republic of Armenia, have received legal protection, shall be granted the right to continue to use the geographical designation in question, provided for viticultural purposes including for wines containing a geographical designation from another country, and prior to the entry into force of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement, where this coincides with the habitual name of the sort of grape growing on the territory of the Republic of Armenia.
- (10)
- The rights relating to a trademark, similar or identical to an appellation of origin, shall continue to be preserved, if the latter is honestly filed for registration or is registered
- (a)
- prior to the date on which the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) are applied in the Republic of Armenia, or
- (b)
- prior to the acquisition of protection for this appellation in its country of origin.
- (11)
- The requirements for legal persons, individual manufacturers, organizations and competent authorities, contained in Article 31(3) of this Law and relating to the use or registration of a trademark shall be submitted within five years of the unlawful use of a protected appellation becoming widely known in the Republic of Armenia, provided that the name is honestly registered.
- (12)
- A certificate holder may not assign the right to use an appellation to other persons.
Article 42. Preventive Marking
A certificate holder may place a preventive marking alongside an appellation so as to authenticate the registration of a given appellation in the Republic of Armenia, in the form of the expression “Registered Appellation of Origin” in full or abbreviated.
Chapter 10: Termination of Legal Protection of an Appellation