REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

LAW on Trademarks and Service Marks

N 2181-xII of February 5, 1993

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter I. Trademark and Service Mark, Their Legal Protection
     Art. 1. Trademark and Service Mark
     Art. 2. Legal Protection of the Trademark
     Art. 3. Absolute Grounds for Registration Denial
     Art. 4. Other Grounds for Registration Denial
     Art. 5. Exclusive Right to the Trademark

Chapter II. Registration of the Trademark
     Art. 6. Application for the Registration of the Trademark
     Art. 7. Priority of the trademark .
     Art. 8. Expertise of an Application for the Trademark Registration.
     Art. 9. Preliminary expertise.
     Art. 10. Expertise of the Marking Being Claimed
     Art. 11. Appeal Against a Decision on a Claim and Restoration of Time Terms Exceeded..
     Art. 12. State Register of Trademarks and Service Marks of the Republic of Belarus.
     Art. 13. Issue of a Certificate foraTrademark
     Art. 14. Registration Validity Terms
     Art. 15. Modifications of the Registration
     Art. 16. Terms of Renewed Registration
     Art. 17. Publication of Registration Data
     Art. 18. Dues
     Art. 19. Registration of a Trademark in Foreign Countries

Chapter III. Collective Marking
     Art. 20. Collective marking
     Art. 21. Registration and Use of a Collective Marking

Chapter IV. Use of the Trademark
     Art. 22. Use of the Trademark and Consequences of its Non-use..
     Art. 23. Warning Marking

Chapter V. Termination of the Legal Protection of the Trademark
     Art. 24. Recognition of a trademark registration invalidity
     Art. 25. Cancellation of a trademark registration

Chapter VI. Assignment of the Trademark
     Art. 26. Assignment of Right to the Trademark
     Art. 27. Granting of the License for the Use of the Trademark
     Art. 28. Registration of the Contract on the Assignment of Rights to the Trademark and of the Licensing Contract

Chapter VII. Organizational Principles of the Legal Protection on the Trademark and Protection of the Rights of Owner
     Art. 29. State Patent Department of the Republic of Belarus under the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus
     Art. 30. Bodies Considering Disputes Connected with Violation of Laws on Trademarks .
     Art. 31. Responsibility for the Violation of Rights of the Owner of the Trademark.

Chapter VIII. Final Provisions
     Art. 32. Legislation of the Republic of Belarus on Trademarks
     Art. 33. Rights of Foreign Legal Entities, Foreign Citizens and Persons without citizenship
     Art. 34. International Treaties.

Chapter I

Trademark and Service Mark, Their Legal Protection

Trademark and Service Mark

Article 1. The trademark and the service mark* are markings used to distinguish goods and services of some legal entities or citizens from similar goods and services** of other legal entities or citizens, respectively.

   1. Wordy, design, three-dimensional and other markings or their combinations may be registered as trademarks.
   2. The trademark may be registered in any color or combination of colors.

* Hereinafter - trademark

** Hereinafter - goods

Legal Protection of the Trademark

Article 2.

   1. The legal protection of the trademark in the Republic of Belarus shall be based on its registration in the State Patent Department of the Republic of Belarus or the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus*** according to the procedure set by the present Law or on the strength of international treaties of the Republic of Belarus.
   2. The trademark may be registered in the name of a legal entity, or a citizen engaged in entrepreneurial activities without the formation of a legal entity.
   3. The right to a trademark is protected by the State and is certified by a certificate.
   4. The trademark certificate shall certify the priority of the trademark, the exclusive right of the owner to the trademark in respect of goods mentioned in the certificate, and shall contain the image of the trademark.

***Hereinafter - Patent Department

Absolute Grounds for Registration Denial

Article 3.

   1. It shall not be allowed to register trademarks composed only of markings:
· Having no distinguishing signs;
· Representing state emblems, flags and symbols, official names of states, flags, emblems, or shortened or full names of international intergovernmental organizations, official control, warranty and standard brands, awards and other distinguishing signs or marks;
· Which have become common usage to mark goods of a certain kind;
· Which are commonly accepted symbols or terms;
· Which show a kind, type, quantity, properties, purpose, value of goods, as well as those that show the place and time of their production or sale.
Such markings may be included into the trademark as unprotected elements, provided there is consent to it of the relevant competent body or of their owner.
   2. It shall not be allowed to register trademarks or their elements of marking:
· Which are false or which may mislead the user as to the goods or their manufacturer;
· Which contradict, by its content, pubic interests, humane and moral principles.

Other Grounds for Registration Denial

Article 4.

   1. It shall not be allowed to register as trademarks composed only of markings that are identical with, or similar to, the following in a way that they can be confused:
· Trademarks previously registered or applied for their registration in the Republic of Belarus in the name of another person in relation to similar kinds of goods;
· Trademarks of other persons, protected in the Republic of Belarus on the basis of international agreements;
· Trade names (or their parts) owned by the other persons that have obtained the right to these names before an application was received for a trademark in relation to similar kinds of goods;
· Names of places of origin of goods, protected in the Republic of Belarus, except in the cases when they are included as an unprotected element into a trademark registered in the name of a person which has the right to use such a name.
   2. It shall not be allowed to register as trademarks markings, reproducing:
· Registered industrial designs the right to which in the Republic of Belarus belongs to other persons;
· Names of works of science, literature or art, known in the republic of Belarus, or quotations of from them, works of art or their fragments without consent of the owner of the copyright or the relevant competent body;
· Surnames names, pseudonyms and their derivatives, portraits and facsimiles of known persons without consent of such persons, their heirs or a relative competent body.

Exclusive Right to the Trademark

Article 5.

   1. The owner of a trademark shall have the exclusive right to use the trademark, dispose of it, as well as the right to ban the use of the trademark by other persons.
No one shall have the right to use a trademark, protected in the Republic of Belarus, for which a certificate has been issued, without permission of its owner.
   2. Violation of the rights of a trademark owner shall be unauthorized execution of the actions stipulated by Article 22 of the present Law, as well as importation, offer for sale, sale or another putting into economic circulation of goods marked with a trademark protected in the Republic of Belarus.

Chapter II

Registration of the Trademark

Application for the Registration of the Trademark

Article 6.

   1. An application for the registration of the trademark* shall be submitted to the Patent Department by a legal entity or citizen.
An application may be submitted through a patent agent registered in the Patent Department.
   2. Foreign legal entities, having a permanent place of location in foreign countries, or citizens or persons without citizenship, living outside the Republic of Belarus, shall carry, in the Republic of Belarus, affairs connected with the registration of trademarks and extension of the registration validity time through Belarusian patent agents registered in the Patent Department.
   3. An application shall concern one trademark.
   4. An application for the registration of a trademark shall contain:
· An application for the registration of a trademark specifying the applicant, as well as its place of location or place of living:
· A marking being claimed;
· A list of goods and services being claimed for the registration grouped according to the classes of the International Classification of goods and services for the registration of trademarks.
   5. The following shall be appended to an application:
· A document confirming payment of dues or grounds for the reduction of their size;
· A document confirming power of a patent agent, if the application is submitted through a patent agent, prints or photographic copies of a marking being claimed.
· Prints or photographic copies of a marking being claimed.
· The Patent Department shall set requirements as to an application's documents.
*Hereinafter - application



Priority of the trademark

Article 7.

   1. Priority of the trademark shall be established according to the date a claim is submitted to the Patent Department, that meets the requirements stipulated by clause 4 of Article 6 of the present Law.
   2. Priority of the trademark may be established according to the day a prior claim is submitted for the trademark in a foreign country, which is a party to the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property, if the Patent Department received a claim within six months since the above date.
If a clean application for the convention priority could not be submitted within the specified time period because of circumstances beyond powers of the applicant, then this time period may be extended on the request of the applicant, but not for more than six months.
   3. Priority of a trademark placed on exhibits of official or officially recognized international exhibitions organized in the territory of one of the countries, being Parties to the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property, may be established according to the date the exhibit is presented for the first time for the open display at the exhibition, if the Patent Department has received a claim for the trademark within six months since the mentioned date.
   4. An applicant, wishing to use the right to the convention or exhibition priority, shall be obliged to specify this when submitting an application for a trademark or within two months since the date the application for a trademark or within two months since the date the application was received by the Patent Department, enclosing the required documents confirming legality of such a claim, or shall submit these documents not later than three months after the date the application was received by the Patent Department.
   5. Priority of the trademark may be established according to the date of the international registration of the trademark in conformity with international treaties of the Republic of Belarus.

Expertise of an Application for the Trademark Registration

Article 8.

   1. Expertise of an application for the registration of a trademark shall be performed by the Patent Department and shall include a preliminary expertise and an expertise of a marking being claimed, to be performed in conformity with the present Law and the rules established by the Patent Department on the basis of it. An applicant shall have the right, on its initiative or when invited by a state expert, to take park, personally or through its preliminary expertise or the expertise of the marking being claimed.
   2. Within two months since the date the application was received an applicant shall have the right, on its own initiative, to append, particularize or correct materials of the application.
If additional materials substantially alter the marking being claimed or include goods of different kinds into the list of goods mentioned in the application, these materials shall not be accepted for consideration and may be claimed by the applicant in a separate claim.
   3. During the expertise of a claim, an applicant may be proposed to make additions to, particularize or correct the claim.
Additional materials requested by the Patent Department must be submitted within a two0month period since the date the claim was received before the expiration of this time period. If the applicant violated the above time period or gave no answer to the request, the claim shall be deemed withdrawn, and the applicant shall be informed of it.
   4. An application may be withdrawn on request of the applicant at any stage of its consideration.

Preliminary expertise

Article 9.

   1. Preliminary expertise of a claim shall be performed within one month since the date it was received by the Patent Department.
   2. The preliminary expertise shall be aimed at checking contents of the claim and availability of documents to be appended to it, as well as their correspondence with the established requirements. According to the results of the preliminary expertise, the applicant shall be informed of acceptance of the claim for expertise or of a denial to accept the claim for consideration.
   3. In case when a claim is accepted for consideration, the applicant shall be informed of the established trademark priority, except in cases when it is request for a convention or exhibition priority, but, by the time the claim is accepted for consideration, it did not submit the necessary documents confirming legality of this claim.
   4. In case of disagreement with the decision of the preliminary expertise, an applicant received such a secession Decision on the protest shall be taken within one month since the date of its receiving.

Expertise of the Marking Being Claimed

Article 10.

   1. Expertise of a marking being claimed shall be performed on the completion of the preliminary expertise.
The expertise shall establish the trademark priority, if it has not been established at the stage of the preliminary expertise, and shall check if the marking being claimed meet the requirements set by Articles 3 and 4 of the present Law.
   2. According to the results of the expertise a decision shall be taken on the registration of a trademark or on denial of such registration.
An applicant shall have the right to know the materials used when an expertise was performed.
Copies of materials claimed against the marking being claimed might be requested within one month since the date a decision on the claim was received.
   3. A secession of the expertise on the registration of a trademark may be reviewed in connection with a received claim that enjoys an earlier priority in accordance with Article 7 of the present Law.
   4. When an applicant disagrees with a decision of the expertise, the applicant shall have the right to submit, within a two-month time period since the day the decision was received, to the Patent Department a request a new expertise.
A new expertise shall be performed within a two-month time period since the day the applicant's request was received.

Appeal Against a Decision on a Claim and Restoration of Time Terms Exceeded

Article 11. 1. When the applicant disagrees with a decision of a new expertise, the applicant shall have the right to submit, within a three-month time period since the day the decision was received, a motivated claim to the Appeal Board of Patent Expertise of the Patent Department*. The claim shall be considered within a four-month time period since the day it was received. The applicant shall have the right, personally or through its representative, to take part in the consideration of its claim.

   2. A decision of the Appeal Board may be appealed against the applicant in the Patent Court of the Republic of Belarus** within six months since the day the decision was taken.
   3. Time terms stipulated by clauses 2, 3 Article 8, clause 4 of Article 9, clause 4 of Article 10 and clause 1 of Article 11 of the present Law, exceeded by the applicant, may be restored on application of the applicant confirms good excuses and pays the dues.
*Hereinafter - Appeal Board
**Hereinafter - Patent Court

State Register of Trademarks and Service Marks of the Republic of Belarus

Article 12.

The Patent Department shall register trademarks of the State Register of Trademarks and Service Marks of the Republic of Belarus*. The register of Trademarks shall include: the inane of a trademark, date on its owner, data on the trademark priority, the date on its owner, data on the trademark priority, the date of its registration, a list of goods and services covered by the registered trademark.
The Register of Trademarks shall include also other data, related to the trademark registration, extension of the registration period, registration cancellation, as well as all subsequent alterations of such data. On application of a person concerned, the Patent Department may provide an abstract from the Register of Trademarks.
*Hereinafter - Register of Trademarks




Issue of a Certificate for a Trademark

Article 13.

A certificate for a trademark shall be issued by the Patent Department on the basis of a trademark's registration in the Register of Trademarks within a one-month period after a document on the payment of the established due was received.

Registration Validity Terms

Article 14.

   1. Registration of a trademark shall be valid within ten years since the date an application was received by the Patent Department.
   2. Registration validity terms may be extended on application of the owner submitted during the last year of its validity; each time the terms are extended for another ten years.
To extend the trademark registration validity terms, the owner may be granted, on his request, an additional six-month period after the registration validity terms have expired, provided an additional due has been paid.
   3. A record shall be made in the Register of Trademarks and the trademark certificate confirming the extension of the registration validity terms.

Modifications of the Registration

Article 15.

The owner of a trademark shall notify the Patent Department on alteration of his name, surname, first or patronymic names, a reduction of the list of goods covered by the registered trademark. A record on such alterations shall be made in the Register of Trademarks and the Trademark certificate.
If a list of goods covered by the registers trademark is to be appended, a new application shall be issued.

Terms of Renewed Registration

Article 16.

A trademark, whose registration has been terminated on the grounds of Article 25 of the present Law, may not be registered anew, within three years since the date of the registration termination, in the name of a person other than the former owner of the trademark or his assignee.
This rule is not applied in the case, when registration of a trademark has been recognized invalid in accordance with Article 24 of the present Law.

Publication of Registration Data

Article 17.

Data, related to the trademark registration and recorded into the Register of Trademarks in accordance with Article 12 of the present Law, shall be published by the Patent Department in the official bulletin within six months since the date the trademark was registered in the Register of Trademarks.
All subsequent alterations in data related to the trademark registration shall also be published.

Dues

Article 18. Dues shall be collected for a submitted application, expertise, registration and issue of a trademark certificate, extension of the registration validity terms, as well as for other judicial actions connected with the registration and extension of the trademark registration validity terms. A list of actions the performance of which requires the collection of dues, procedure, amounts and time for the payment of dues, as well as grounds for exemption, reduction of due amounts or pay back of dues shall be established by the Council Of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus.

   1. Dues shall be paid by an applicant, a trademark owner, or by another legal entity of citizen concerned as agreed with the applicant or the owner.

Registration of a Trademark in Foreign Countries

Article 19.

   1. Legal entities and citizens of the Republic of Belarus shall have the right to register a trademark in a foreign country or arrange its international registration.
An application for the international registration of a trademark shall be submitted in accordance with international treaties, to which the Republic of Belarus is a party.
   2. Expenses connected with the registration of a trademark in a foreign country and an international registration shall be borne by the applicant or by another legal entity or citizen concerned as agreed with the applicant.

Chapter III

Collective Marking

Article 20.

   1. The collective marking shall be a trademark of a union, association, concern or another economic amalgamation*, designed to mark goods produced or realized by them and having united qualitative or other common characteristics.
   2. A collective marking and the right to its use may not be transferred.
* Hereinafter - amalgamation

Registration and Use of a Collective Marking

Article 21. The application to a collective marking shall enclose a collective marking's statute which includes the name of the amalgamation authorized to register the collective marking in its name, a list of legal entities and entrepreneurs without the formation of the legal entity which have the right to use this marking, purpose of its registration, a list of goods as well as united qualitative or other common characteristics of goods to be marked by the collective marking, conditions of its use, procedure for supervision over its use, responsibility for the violation of the collective marking statute.

   1. The Register of Trademarks and the collective marking certificate shall include, in addition to the data stipulated by Article 12 of the present Law, data on legal entities and entrepreneurs without the formation of the legal entity, which have the right to use the collective marking. These data as well as an abstract from the collective marking statute about united qualitative or other common characteristics of goods covered by the registered trademark, shall be published by the Patent Department in official bulletin.
   3. The owner of a collective marking shall notify the Patent Department about modifications in the collective marking's statute.
   4. In the case when a collective marking is used on goods that do no possess united qualitative or other common characteristics, its registration validity may terminated - fully or partially - before time on the basis of a decision of the Patent Department taken according to an application submitted by the legal entity or citizen concerned.

Chapter IV

Use of the Trademark

Use of the Trademark and Consequences of its Non-use

Article 22.

   1. Use of a trademark shall mean its application on goods, covered by the registered trademark, or on their packing, by the owner of the trademark or a person who has been granted this right on the basis of a licensing contract in accordance with Article 27 of the present Law.
Use may be also recognized as application of a trademark in advertising, printed issues, notices, plates, when demonstrating exhibits at exhibition and fairs held in the Republic of Belarus, provided there are good excuses for non-use of the trademark on goods or on their packing.
   2. The Patent Court may take a decision to terminate, fully or partially, a trademark's registration validity before time, if a legal entity or citizen has submitted an application about non-use of the trademark continuously during five years since the date of its registration on five years preceding the submission of such an application.
When solving the issue of termination before time of the trademark registration validity in connection with its nonuse, account may be taken of data submitted by the owner of the trademark proving that the trademark has not been used due to circumstances that are beyond powers of the owner.

Warning Marking

Article 23. The owner of a trademark may place beside the trademark a warning marking stating that the marking applicated is a trademark registered in the Republic of Belarus.

Chapter V

Termination of the Legal Protection of the Trademark

Recognition of a trademark registration invalidity

Article 24.

   1. Registration of a trademark may be recognized invalid, fully or partially, during the entire time of its validity, if it has been performed in violation of the requirements stipulated by Article 2, 3 and 4 of the present Law.
Any legal entity or citizen may submit, within the above-specified time, protest against registration of a trademark to the Appeal Board.
   2. Protest against registration of a trademark must be considered within six months since the date it was received. The person who has submitted the protest, as well as the owner of the trademark shall have the right to participate in its consideration.
   2. A decision of the Appeal Board may be appealed against tin the Patent Court within six months since the day it was received.

Cancellation of a trademark registration

Article 25.

The Patent Department shall cancel registration of a trademark:
· in connection with the expiration of its validity terms stipulated by Article 14 of the present Law;
· in case it is recognized invalid in accordance with Article 24 of the present Law; in case of a legal entity's liquidation, which is the owner of the trademark;
· on case of death of the person who is the owner of the trademark, carrying on entrepreneurial activities without the formation of the legal entity;
· by a decision of the Patent Court to terminate its validity before time;
· in case the owner of the trademark disclaims the registration.

Chapter VI

Assignment of the Trademark

Assignment of Right to the Trademark

Article 26.

Right to a trademark may be assigned by the owner, according to a contract, to a legal entity or citizen in relation to all, or part of, goods covered by the registered trademark.
Assignment of right to a trademark shall not be allowed , if it may be a cause, misleading a user in relation to goods or their manufacturer.

Granting of the License for the Use of the Trademark

Article 27.

The owner of a trademark (licensor) may grant the right to the use of the trademark to another person (licensee) by a licensing contract.
A licensing contract must include a provision stipulating that quality of goods of a licensee will not be lower than quality of goods of the licensor and that the licensor shall exercise control over the fulfillment of this provision.
Registration of the Contract on the Assignment of Rights to the Trademark and of the Licensing Contract

Article 28. A contract by condition of which an owner assigns a trademark to another legal entity or citizen, and a licensing contract shall be registered by the Patent Department. Without such registration, they shall be deemed invalid.

Chapter VII

Organizational Principles of the Legal Protection on the Trademark and Protection of the Rights of Owner

State Patent Department of the Republic of Belarus under the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus

Article 29. The state patent Department of the Republic of Belarus under the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus shall accept for consideration applications for the registration of trademarks, perform expertise on them, issue certificate for trademarks having force in the entire territory of the Republic of Belarus, keep the State Register of Trademarks and Service Mark of the Republic of Belarus, exercise within its competence, control over the observance of laws on trademarks, generalize practice of their application, explain the provision of the present Law, render methodical aid and services, carry on information operations as to trademarks, carry on activities connected with international registration of trademarks.

Bodies Considering Disputes Connected with Violation of Laws on Trademarks

Article 30.

Disputes connected with trademarks shall be considered by regional (district) courts, the Minsk City Court, Oblast court, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus, as well as by economic courts in accordance with their competence, except disputes referred to the competence, except disputes referred to the competence of the Appeal Board and the Patent Court in accordance with Articles 11, 21, 22 and 24 of the present Law.

Responsibility for the Violation of Rights of the Owner of the Trademark

Article 31.

   1. Use of a trademark in contradiction to the present Law or a trademark similar to a trademark used to mark similar kinds of goods, as well as other actions in relation to a trademark, which cause damage to its owner or to users, shall incur civil-law, administrative or criminal responsibility in accordance with the legislation in force.
   2. A persons using a somebody else's trademark shall be obliged, on demand of the owner, to terminate its usage and compensate for caused losses.

Chapter VIII

Final Provisions

Legislation of the Republic of Belarus on Trademarks

Article 32.

The legislation on trademarks includes the present Law and other legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus.

Rights of Foreign Legal Entities, Foreign Citizens and Persons without citizenship

Article 33.

Foreign legal entities, as well as foreign citizens and persons without citizenship shall enjoy the rights stipulated by the present Law and other legislative acts of the republic of Belarus, regulating matters of trademarks, on a par with legal entities and citizens of the Republic of Belarus, unless otherwise stipulated by the present Law and other legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus.

International Treaties

Article 34.

If an international treaty of the Republic of Belarus stipulates rules other than the rules contained by the present Law, then rules of the international treaty shall be applied.