 |
 .
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
Information on the registration of trademarks / service marks in Cyprus A. General The Cyprus Trademarks Law and the Rules are based on the English Trademarks Act and Rules of 1938. English precedent up to 1960 is binding on Cypriot Courts and subsequent cases have persuasive effect. Cyprus is also a signatory to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. Further, Cyprus has also ratified Trademark Law Treaty and Regulations of WIPO and it is in the process of implementing its provisions. Registration of a mark confers that the mark may be used only by the registered owner in relation to the goods or services for which it is registered. The registered owners of the mark may take legal action for infringement of the registration. The registration of service marks is also possible and the procedure is identical to that of trademarks. B. Procedure The proposed mark must be examined as to its registrability. Registration in another country will facilitate registration in Cyprus. A preliminary search of the register may be carried out upon the client’s request to ensure that the mark or other marks resembling same have not been registered. An application for the registration of the mark is filed with the Registrar of Trademarks together with a power of attorney signed by the owner of the mark appointing the law office which will deal with the application. Each application for a mark must be in respect of one class only. Separate applications are therefore needed for the registration of the same mark in different classes. The classification system follows the international one. The Registrar will then proceed to examine same and decide on its compliance with the relevant statutory provisions i.e. whether the mark is distinctive, not deceptive, that there is no conflict with other marks already registered or pending. The Registrar may either accept the mark, accept it on conditions or object to it. If the mark is accepted on condition or objected to, the applicant may file an opposition together with supporting evidence, followed by an oral hearing. If the Registrar objects thereafter an appeal may lie to the Supreme Court of Cyprus. Acceptance by the Registrar is followed by publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cyprus upon payment of a fee. The purpose of such publication is to enable anyone who has an objection to the registration to oppose same, within two months from publication. Any objections are followed by hearings between the two parties which enable the Registrar to decide on the validity of the objection. When the Registrar decides to register the mark a certificate of registration is issued which is valid for seven years and a possibility of renewal for 14 years thereafter. The date of application of the mark is deemed to be the date of registration. From our experience, registration of trademarks, assuming there are no objections by the Registrar nor any oppositions, takes approximately 2 years. |
|||||||||||||||||||||
   |
