News: Trademark registration on Maldives

Registration of trademark in the Maldives: peculiarities and stages

The Maldives is one of the most famous places of resort among tourists from the CIS countries. In view of the large influx of foreign visitors, entrepreneurial activity in this region is developing rapidly, which improves not only the material position of each of the companies separately, but also the overall economic status of the state.

Trademark in the Maldives is necessary to protect the legal rights of one or another brand product, as well as prevent the copying of the goods. The availability of registered trademark allows avoiding the appearance of similar emblems on the market, and also provides opportunity for the formal representation of the organization's interests in court.

Features of registering a brand name in the Maldives

1. The country is not included in the number of participants of the Madrid Agreement and the Protocol, therefore, registration of trademark is carried out only according to the national procedure. The foregoing makes it possible to significantly reduce the time for consideration of an application from natural person or legal entity, but the legal force of trademark will not be effective outside the island's borders.
2. The Maldives does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Paris Convention. This means that the trademark is protected solely by the rules of the country's official legislation. Drafts on the protection of logos are put forward and approved by the Commission for the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights.
3. The majority of population professes Islam, therefore applicants should be careful when drawing up the layouts of their trademark logos.
4. If registration of the trademark is necessary for non-resident individual, then if the expert commission's decision is positive, the client is obliged to establish own company no later than 5 years after obtaining the permission for business activity in the territory of the Maldives.

What is needed to be done before submitting application for trademark registration in the Maldives?

Law&Trust undertakes the obligations to collect and prepare documentation. When applying to us, the client should provide scanned passport form, layout of the emblem, power of attorney and application for trademark registration in the Maldives. However, the logo is compiled by the counterparty himself or hired designers. The requirements for the layout of the trademark’s emblem logo are as follows:

• The presence of immoral elements on the image is unacceptable;
• It is prohibited to use parts from the logos of other corporations or copy their ideas;
• Emblem with calls for war, extremism, terrorism and other offenses will be rejected and returned to the owner for making adjustments;
• It is prohibited to use quotations, names, surnames and statements of public figures, as well as large companies;
• It is unacceptable to use the symbols of the United Kingdom, as well as references to the Queen and the government, since the Maldives had been a British colony for a long time.

The process of registration of trademark in the Maldives

1. The counterparty leaves application on our website in any convenient way: you can contact us via call from the web page or by phone and applications are accepted by mail or in chat during non-working hours. We work with all categories of clients, regardless of their citizenship and location.
2. All consultations on trademark registration issues in the Maldives are free and conducted remotely. During the first conversation, we carry out the exchange of documents, and the client clarifies the cost of the service, the terms of registration of trademark in the Maldives and other details of the process.
3. Collection of documents from the list of required documents is carried out without participation of the client. Lawyers personally negotiate with representatives of all authorities, including tax authorities.
4. Preparation includes the stage of interpreting documents for the Maldivian language, verifying the accuracy of filling and the compliance of the package with the regulations of the country.

The term of validity of trademark after the issuance is 10 years, and after the expiration of the above term you can apply to us again for renewal of the permission for business activities.