Myanmar: Update on trademark registration and trademark re-filing
As of December 2021, this note provides an update on Myanmar’s trademark law and practice in connection to the registration of new trademarks and the re-filing of previously registered and used trademarks.
As you may be aware, Myanmar previously lacked a trademark law. Previously, all trademarks in Myanmar had to be registered by filing a Declaration of Ownership of Trademark with the Myanmar Registrar.
Of note, all trademarks registered previously have not undergone substantive examination. A new Trademark Law was passed in Myanmar in 2019, but it will not take effect until a particular Notification is issued by a relevant Ministry in Myanmar. For trademarks which have been registered under the old system, in case the trademark owners wish to keep their registered marks effective in Myanmar, they must re-file applications for registration of their marks for substantive examination at the Myanmar Registrar during a 6-month period called the “Soft Opening Period”.
The Ministry of Commerce and Trade published Notification No. 63/2020 on August 28, 2020, stating that the Soft Opening Period, as defined by section 93(a) of the new Trade Mark law, will begin on October 1, 2020 for mark owners. During the Soft Opening Period, the Myanmar Registrar will only receive applications for re-registration of the trademarks which have been previously registered with Myanmar Registrar, but not receive applications for registering.
New Trademark Registration under the Old Law
Under the Deeds Registration Law 2018, a new trademark can be registered with the Office for Registration of Deeds (“Registration Office”) by filing a Declaration of Trademark Ownership (“DTO”). According to the Nice Classification, a single Declaration of Trademark Ownership (DTO) can cover one trademarks for one or more classes of products or services. There are no mechanisms for examination or opposition. If the Registrar finds that the Declaration of Trademark Ownership (DTO) complies with the Deeds Registration Law, registration is allowed two weeks after the Declaration of Trademark Ownership (DTO) is filed.
Trademark registration does not have an expiration date. After the Declaration of Trademark Ownership (DTO) is registered, the trademark owner must publish a Cautionary Notice (“CN”) in a local newspaper to advise the public of the trademark ownership and to discourage trademark infringement.
It is standard procedure for the owner of a registered trademark to publish a CN for that trademark once every three years.
Re-filing Registered Trademarks under the New Trademark Law 2019 (“MTL2019”)
The Ministry of Commerce of Myanmar (“MOC”) has issued Order No. 63/2020, which allows trademarks registered with the Registration Office or used in Myanmar to be re-filed via the WIPO / IPD online filing system. The re-filing period (also known as the “Soft Opening Period”) began on October 1, 2020, and will finish on the MTL2019’s implementation date. The President of Myanmar will declare the MTL2019’s start date later. The formal filing fees and form of the official Power of Attorney (POA) have yet to be released by the Ministry of Commerce of Myanmar.
The IPD has accepted roughly 45,000 re-filing petitions for registered and used trademarks as of December 27, 2021. In 2022, the IPD will continue to accept re-filing applications.
*** Other Articles***
– You could visit here to see Procedure of Myanmar Trademark Registration.
– You could see the full new Myanmar Trademark law here
– You could visit here to see Procedure of Myanmar Trademark Registration (effective soon).
– You could visit here to check the required documents for filing trademark in Myanmar
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