Montenegro: National Trademark Applications Now Published for Opposition

On December 20, the Montenegro IPO issued its seventh Official Gazette, the first one that includes national trademark applications published for opposition, under the provisions of the new trademark law of December 2010.

The first six Gazettes were in line with the old trademark law, under which only the registered trademarks were published.

The new trademark law abolished the previous practice of substantive examination on relative grounds and introduced the opposition proceedings. A trademark application is now examined on absolute grounds only and if it meets the requirements for registration, it is published in the Official Gazette. Third parties have 90 days from the date of publication to file a written opposition.

The Montenegro IPO does not publish the international registrations (IR) for opposition. The WIPO’s publication of the IR is considered to be the publication of the trademark application in Montenegro, i.e. it is treated as if it were published in the Montenegro IPO’s Gazette. The opposition against the IR is filed with the local IPO within 90 days from the WIPO’s date of publication.

For more information, please contact Jasna Jusic Paovic at our Montenegro office.

Source: Montenegro IPO