Belarus Trademark Legislation

Amendments to the Trademark Law of the Republic of Belarus entered into force on January 19th, 2004.

One of the most significant amendments concerns the distinction of notions “trademarks” and “service marks”, which puts the provisions of the Belarusian legislation in line with international conventions on industrial property, namely Paris Convention (1883) and Nice Agreement (1957).

Other changes and amendments envisage:

• Complete list of conditions for signs which can be registered as
  trademarks and service marks;
• Broader definition of violation of trademark owner rights;
• Clear indications of what cannot be registered as a trademark and a
  service mark;
• Grounds for refusal of trademark registration;
• Reasons for premature termination of trademark validity;
• Conditions for invalidation of trademark registration in unfair
  competition cases.

In order to prevent inconsistent decisions relating to the protection of industrial property rights in Belarus, the trademark and service mark law changes were also introduced to the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus.

For more details on the amendments to the trademark law of the Republic of Belarus, please contact us.