WHO CAN FILE A TRADEMARK
Any natural person or a Legal entity can file a trademark application in selected specification of goods or services. The Applicant for trademark under Bangladesh Trademark law can also foreign national and/or Legal entity as well.
SELECTING A TRADEMARK
While selecting a trademark, the two factors to be kept in mind are the mark itself and the specification of goods and services the marks intends to cover.
An ideal mark should be distinctive and unique in nature, and should be not similar to an already registered mark. For selecting goods and services, it is important to understand the class under which the trademark would fall; At the moment, under NICE classification goods and services can be classified as 45 different types of goods and services. Classifications 1–34 are for products, and 35–45 are for services. It is to be noted that in Bangladesh, Multiclass Applications are NOT allowed.
Once you have successfully chosen a suitable mark for your company, trademark registration in bangladesh Trademark Office (DPDT) should be conducted to assess the feasibility of the selected mark being registered. A Trademark search is not mandatory, but is highly advised. Request for an official search can be made with the prescribed fee.
FILING OF TRADEMARK
In Bangladesh, trademark registration can be obtained typically within 18 – 24 months (In case no objections are received). Following are the particulars to be kept in mind:
- Name and Address of Applicant;
- Name of Trademark, (if it is a stylized mark, logo or device, the actual stylized mark, logo or device);
- Complete and Concise Description of the Mark;
- International Classification (Nice Classification – 11th Edition) of the Goods and/or Services;
- Enumeration of the Goods and/or Services;
- Translation and Transliteration of Characters (if not in English), certified as correct by Sworn Translator;
- If Claiming Convention Priority, a Certified Copy of the Home Trademark Application;
- Specification of Colors, if any;
- Power of Attorney, Signed and Sealed;
- Usage Date of the Mark (whether the mark is in use or proposed to be used in Bangladesh);
Certified Copy Claiming Convention Priority, Power of Attorney, and document of Usage can be submitted within 2 months from filing date.
EXAMINATION OF TRADERMARK
Trademark applications are examined by the trademark examiner within 2 – 4 months of filing. The formal examination goes through the Application thoroughly under which distinctiveness with prior and similar marks is checked. In the examination report trademark may get accepted or will get objected.
- Publication of Trademark: If the application satisfies all requirements, then the respective examiner, on behalf of Registrar, shall issue a letter of acceptance for the mark to be advertised in the trademarks journal. On acceptance of Trademark, it is to be published in trademark journal within the next 5 – 10 months.
When a trademark is advertised in the trademark journal, any person may oppose within 2 months from the date of the publication.
- Objection of Trademark: If trademark application does not satisfy all requirements, then the examiner will issue objection notice. From the completion of examination, it takes further 5 – 6 months to receive the objection notice. The deadline to file a reply to objection notice is 3 months, which is strictly non-extendable.
It is to be noted that the timeline may vary depending on the backlog at the registry.
REGISTRATION OF TRADEMARK
If no opposition is filed against the published trademark, the Registrar will issue the registration certificate within 2 – 6 months. The certificate of registration will be issued after successfully completion of opposition period. This will be valid for a period of 7 years, after which a request for renewal can be file. On expiry of the period of protection, the trademark can be renewed for each consecutive term of 10 years. The grace period is 6 months with the additional prescribed fee.
