Iceland: Act No. 71/2020 of June 24, 2020, on Amendments to Trademarks Act No. 45/1997

September 1, 2020

Iceland: The Act No. 71/2020 of June 24, 2020, on Amendments to Trademarks Act No. 45/1997 entered into force on September 1, 2020.

This Act introduces, inter alia, the following amendments to the Trade Marks Act, in order to align with the requirements of Directive (EU) No. 2015/2436:

(i) Removal of the graphical representation requirement of a trademark to facilitate the registration of new trademarks, thus allowing non-traditional signs to be filed;

(ii) Establishing a term of trademark protection of 10 years from the date of filing the application;

(iii) Providing the rules on the revocation of trademarks on the grounds of non-use and the non-use defense in opposition proceedings;

(iv) Clarifying the absolute and relative grounds for refusal to register a trademark, and the grounds for rejecting a trademark application that was made in bad faith; and

(v) Introducing the third party observation system prior to the trademark registration.