Following recent significant progress in the implementation of Myanmar’s new Trade Mark system, the first online official gazette was published on 1 May. This follows the first office actions being issued in February.
The publication starts the 60-day opposition period for third-parties to challenge marks filed under the new law. The gazette will be published monthly and the early issues are expected to be lengthy as the Registry works through the thousands of new applications filed; the first edition weighs in at over 450 pages.
This 60-day period is designed to allow anyone including applicants enough time to discover the published marks and file an opposition if required. The Trade Mark Law allows oppositions to be filed by anyone for absolute grounds. Regarding the oppositions with relative grounds, any interested person who can demonstrate an interest in the opposed mark can file it. How this interest is to be assessed will become clearer as decisions are issued.
Any interested party that fails to file the opposition within the time frame may file an application for invalidation after the relevant mark has been registered. The limitation on filing an invalidation is 5 years from the date of registration, unless it has been registered in bad faith.
For more information on protecting and enforcing your brands in Myanmar, including for watching services for marks published under the new law, please contact us at myanmar@rouse.com
