- Section 1. The Trademark and Service Mark and Its Legal Protection
- Article 1. Trademark and Service Mark
- Article 2. Legal Protection of Trade Mark
- Article 3. Exclusive Right to a Trade Mark
- Article 4. The Absolute Reasons for Refusal in Registration
- Article 5. Other Reasons for Refusal in Registration
- Article 6. Application for Registration of a Trade Mark
- Article 7. Priority of a Trade Mark
- Article 8. Examination of the Application for Registration of a Trade Mark
- Article 9. Preliminary Expert Examination
- Article 10. Examination of Declared Designation
- Article 11. Appeal of the Decision Under the Application
- Article 12. Registration of a Trade Mark and Issue of the Certificate for a Trade Mark
- Article 13. Term of Validity of the Registration
- Article 14. Modifications in Registration and Correction of Mistakes
- Article 15. Publication of Data on Registration
- Article 16. Registration of Trade Mark in Foreign States
- Article 17. Patent duties
- Section 2. Collective Mark
- Section 3. Use of Trade Mark
- Section 4. Transfer of the Right on Trade Mark
- Section 5. Termination of Legal Protection of Trade Mark
- Section 6. Final Provisions
- Article 27. Patent Body
- Article 28. Consideration of Disputes Connected With Infringement of Legislation on Trade Marks
- Article 29. Responsibility of Legal and Natural Persons for Infringement of Legislation on Trade Marks
- Article 30. Rights of Foreign Citizens, Persons Without Citizenship and Foreign Legal Persons
- Article 31. International Treaties
On Trademarks and Service Marks
Law of the Republic of Belarus
No. 2181-XII of February, 5, 1993
[Amended as of May 7, 2007]
The present Law regulates the relations arising in connection with registration, legal protection and use of trade marks (service marks).
Section 1. The Trademark and Service Mark and Its Legal Protection
Article 1. Trademark and Service Mark
1. A Trademark and Service Mark (further - a trade mark) - a designation promoting difference of the goods or services (further - the goods) of one legal or natural persons from the uniform goods or services of other legal or natural persons.
2. As trade marks shall be registered designations which can be submitted in the graphic form: verbal, including proper name, alphabetic, digital, graphic, combinations of colors, volumetric designations, including the form of the goods or its packing, and also combinations of such designations.
3. The trade mark can be registered in any color or a color combination.
Article 2. Legal Protection of Trade Mark
1. The legal protection of a trade mark in the Republic of Belarus shall be carried out on the basis of its registration in the state institution "National Center of Intellectual Property" (further – the patent body) in the order established by the legislation on trade marks, or by virtue of international treaties of the Republic of Belarus.
2. A trade mark can be registered for the name of legal or natural person.
3. The right on a trade mark shall be protected by the state. On the registered trade mark the certificate shall be issued. The certificate on a trade mark shall certify a priority of a trade mark, the exclusive right of the owner to a trade mark concerning the goods specified in the certificate, and contains the image of a trade mark.
Article 3. Exclusive Right to a Trade Mark
1. The owner of a trade mark shall have the exclusive right to use the trade mark and to dispose of it, and also the right to forbid use of the trade mark by other persons.
2. Nobody can use the trade mark protected in the territory of the Republic of Belarus on which the certificate is issued, without the permission of its owner.
3. The non-authorized manufacturing, application, import, the offer to sale, sale and other introduction in the civil turnover or storage with this purpose of a trade mark or the goods designated by it, or a designation similar to it up to a degree of mixture, concerning the uniform goods, and also the non-uniform goods marked with a trademark recognized publically known in the Republic of Belarus shall be admit as infringement of rights of the owner of a trade mark
Article 4. The Absolute Reasons for Refusal in Registration
1. Registration of the following trade marks shall not be allowed:
1.1. not having attributes of distinction;
1.2. entered in the general use as a designation of the goods of the certain kind;
1.3. being the standard symbols and terms;
1.4. consisting exclusively from marks or indications used for a designation of a kind, quality, quantity, property, purpose, value of the goods, and also a place and time of their manufacture or selling;
1.5. representing the form of the goods or its packing, determined exclusively or mainly by essence or a nature of the goods, necessity of achievement of the technical result, essential value of the goods.
2. The designations specified in point 1 of present can be included in a trade mark as unprotected elements if they do not occupy in it a leading position.
3. The positions stipulated by point 1 of present article can not be applied concerning designations which for date of submission of application for registration of a trade mark have actually got distinctive character as a result of use.
4. Registration of the trade marks consisting only from designations, representing the state emblems, flags and emblems, official names of the states, flags, emblems and reduced or full names of the international intergovernmental organizations, official control, guarantee and hall-marks, awards and other distinctions or similar to them up to a degree of mixture shall not be allowed. Such designations can be included as unprotected elements in a trade mark if on it there is a consent of the appropriate competent body or their owner.
5. Registration of the following designations as trade marks shall not be allowed:
5.1. being false or capable to lead into error the consumer concerning the goods, places of its origin or its manufacturer;
5.2. representing or containing the indication of a place of an origin of vines or strong alcoholic drinks protected by virtue of the international treaties of the Republic of Belarus, for designation of vines or strong alcoholic drinks which are not occurring from the given place;
5.3. contradicting to the public order, principles of humanity and morals.
Article 5. Other Reasons for Refusal in Registration
1. Shall not be registered as trade marks the designations identical or similar up to their mixture with:
1.1. registered or declared on registration in the Republic of Belarus addressed to other person and trade marks having earlier priority concerning the uniform goods;
1.2. trade marks of other persons protected in the Republic of Belarus on the basis of the international treaties, concerning the uniform goods;
1.3. the trade marks of other persons recognized well-known in the Republic of Belarus in the order established by the patent body, concerning any goods.
2. Registration of the designation, similar up to a degree of mixture with a trade mark specified in point 1 of present article, shall be allowed under condition of representation of the written approval of the owner of such mark.
3. Shall not be registered as trade marks the designations reproducing:
3.1. known in the territory of the Republic of Belarus company names (or their parts), belonging to other persons and concerning the uniform goods;
3.2. industrial designs, rights on which in the Republic of Belarus belong to other persons if the industrial design has earlier priority in comparison with the trade marks declared on registration;
3.3. names of places of an origin of the goods, protected in the Republic of Belarus;
3.4. names of well-known in the Republic of Belarus works of science, literature and art, citations or characters from them, works of art or their fragments without a consent of copywriters) or his (their) successors;
3.4-1. names of registered in the Republic of Belarus mass media without a permission of their founders in relation to similar goods;
3.5. surnames, names, pseudonyms and derivatives from them, portraits and the facsimile of known in the Republic of Belarus persons i without the consent of such persons or their successors;
3.6. excluded.
4. A well-knowness of the objects mentioned in sub-points 3.1, 3.4, 3.4-1, 3.5 of the point 3 of the present article is determined by patent body on the date of priority applied for registration as the trade mark.
Article 6. Application for Registration of a Trade Mark
1. The application for registration of a trade mark (further - the application) shall be submitted by legal or natural person (further - the applicant) to the patent body.
2. The application can be sent through the patent attorney of the Republic of Belarus.
3. The applicants having the constant location or a constant residence in the foreign states, or their patent attorneys shall conduct in the Republic of Belarus the affairs connected to registration of trade marks and prolongation of term of its validity through the patent attorneys registered in the patent body in the established order.
4. The application shall concern to one trade mark.
5. The application shall contain:
the application for registration of a designation as a trade mark with the indication of the applicant, and also his location or a residence;
declared designation;
the enumeration of goods and services for which the registration is asked, grouped by classes of the International classification of the goods and services for registration of marks.
6. To the application shall be enclosed:
the document confirming payment of the patent duty in the established size;
the document certifying powers of the patent attorney if the application moves through the patent attorney;
regulations about the collective mark if the application is submitted for the collective mark.
7. Requirements to documents of the application and terms of their representation shall be established by the patent body.
Article 7. Priority of a Trade Mark
1. The priority of a trade mark shall be established by the date of submitting application to the patent body. The date of receipt in the patent body of the documents which are meeting the requirements of point 5 of article 6 of the present Law shall be considered the date of application submission.
2. The priority of a trade mark can be established by date of submission of the first application for a trade mark in the foreign state - the participant of the Paris Convention on Protection of Industrial Property from the March, 20, 1883, reconsidered in Brussels December, 14, 1900, in Washington - June, 2, 1911, in Hague - November, 6, 1925, in London - June, 2, 1934, in Lisbon - October, 31, 1958 and in Stockholm - July, 14, 1967 and changed October, 2, 1979 (a conventional priority) if the application has arrived in the patent body within six months from the specified date.
3. The priority of the trade mark placed on exhibits of official or officially recognized international exhibitions, organized on territory of one of the states - participants of the Paris Convention on Protection of Industrial Property, can be established by the date of the beginning of open display of an exhibit at an exhibition (an exhibition priority) if the application is sent to the patent body within six months from the specified date.
4. The applicant, wishing to take advantage of the right of a conventional or exhibition priority, shall be obliged to specify it at application for registration of a trade mark or within two months from the date of receipt of the application in the patent body and to apply the necessary documents confirming legitimacy of such requirement, or to present these documents not later than three months from the date of receipt of the application by the patent body.
5. The priority of a trade mark under the allocated application shall be established by the date of a priority of a trade mark of the initial application submitted according to point 7 of article 8 of the present Law.
6. The priority of a trade mark can be established by the date of a priority of the international application for registration of the trade mark, submitted according to the international treaty of the Republic of Belarus.
Article 8. Examination of the Application for Registration of a Trade Mark
1. Examination of the application for registration of a trade mark shall be carried out by patent body and shall include preliminary expert examination and the examination of the declared designation to be spent according to the present Law and rules, established by the patent body.
2. The applicant shall have the right under the initiative or under the invitation of the expert personally or through the representative to take part in consideration of the questions arising during preliminary expert examination and examination of a declared designation.
3. The applicant shall have the right to supplement, specify or correct under the own initiative materials of the application at any stage of its consideration before date of registration of a trade mark.
4. If additional materials change the designation declared on registration in essence or expand the list of the goods specified in the application, these materials shall not be accepted to consideration and can be made out by the applicant as the independent application.
5. During carrying out examination of the application, but not later the date of registration of a trade mark the applicant shall have the right to submit to the patent body the application for change of the applicant under the application at presence of the consent of the new applicant.
6. The application can be withdrawn at the request of the applicant at any stage of its consideration before the date of registration of a trade mark.
7. During carrying out examination of the application, but before acceptance decision on it the applicant shall have the right to submit on the same designation the allocated application containing a part of names of the goods and services, specified in the list of the initial application for the date of its submission to the patent body, with preservation in the allocated application of the date of submission and date of a priority of a trade mark under the initial application.
Article 9. Preliminary Expert Examination
1. Term of realization of preliminary expert examination shall be two months from the date of submission of the application to the patent body.
2. During realization of preliminary expert examination the structure of the necessary documents stipulated by article 6 of the present Law, correctness of registration of the application, payment of the patent duty shall be checked. At carrying out of the given examination it can be offered to the applicant to make corrections to materials of the application, additions or changes. The corrected, added or changed materials shall be submitted in the patent body in three months term from the date of reception of inquiry. Under the petition of the applicant the given term can be prolonged, but no more than to three months provided that the petition has arrived before the expiration of the given term. If the applicant has broken the specified term or has left inquiry without the answer, the application shall not be accepted to consideration.
3. By results of preliminary expert examination shall be made a decision on acceptance of the application to consideration or about refusal in its acceptance to consideration.
4. At acceptance of the application to consideration date of application, and also a conventional or exhibition priority (in case of representation of the necessary documents confirming legitimacy of this requirement) shall be established.
Article 10. Examination of Declared Designation
1. Examination of the declared designation shall be carried out after end of preliminary expert examination.
2. During examination of the declared designation the priority of a trade mark if it was not established at realization of preliminary expert examination shall be established, and conformity of the declared designation to the requirements established by article 4 and point 1 of article 5 of the present Law shall be checked.
3. During realization of examination of the declared designation the patent body shall have the right to of the applicant request additional materials without which realization of the given examination is impossible. Materials on inquiry of patent body shall be submitted in three months term from the date of reception of inquiry. Under the petition of the applicant the given term can be prolonged provided that the petition has arrived before the expiration of this term. If the applicant has broken the specified term or has left inquiry without the answer, the application admits withdrawn on what the applicant is notified.
4. By results of examination shall be taken a decision on registration of a trade mark or about refusal in its registration.
5. The decision of the expertise on registration of a trade mark can be reconsidered by the patent body in connection with receipt of the application having earlier priority according to article 7 of the present Law on a designation identical or similar up to a degree of mixture concerning the uniform goods.
6. At disagreement of the applicant with the decision of examination he shall have the right in three months term from the date of reception of the decision to submit to the patent body the petition for carrying out repeated examination. Under the petition of the applicant the given term can be prolonged provided that the petition has arrived in the patent body before the expiration of this term.
7. The order of prolongation of terms of examination according to points 3 and 6 of present article shall be established by the patent body.
8. Repeated examination shall be carried out in two months term from the date of receipt of the petition of the applicant.
Article 11. Appeal of the Decision Under the Application
1. At disagreement with the decision of preliminary expert examination on refusal in acceptance of the application to consideration, and also with the repeated decision of examination of the declared designation the applicant shall have the right within three months from the date of reception of the decision to make a complaint in the Appeal council on patent expert examination at the patent body (further – the Appeal council).
2. The complaint shall be considered within four months from the date of its receipt in the Appeal council. The order of consideration of complaints by the Appeal council shall be established by the patent body.
3. The decision of the Appeal council can be appealed by the applicant in the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus within six months from the date of reception of the decision.
Article 12. Registration of a Trade Mark and Issue of the Certificate for a Trade Mark
1. On the basis of the decision on registration of a trade mark the patent body within one month from the date of reception of the document on payment of the established patent duty shall make registration of a trade mark in the State register of trade marks and service marks of the Republic of Belarus (further - the Register). The data concerning registration of a trade mark, and also the subsequent changes of these data shall be brought in the Register. The structure of data shall be determined by the patent body.
2. Under the petition of natural or legal person the patent body shall give an extract from the Register.