Trademark registration in Rwanda

Registration of trademark in Rwanda

Legislation in African countries provides for three options of trademark registration:

1. Collecting a package of documents and submitting an application to the national office of Rwanda, responsible for the protection and recording of intellectual property.
2. Registration through the African Regional Intellectual Property Association (ARIPO) (in addition to Rwanda, the organization includes another 18 English-speaking countries of the African continent);
3. Application to the World Organization of Intellectual Property (WIPO).

It is preferable to use the registration of trademark in Rwanda through the regional association of intellectual property, as the foregoing ensures the protection of trademark in the territory of several countries at the same time.

Terms and conditions for registering a brand name in Rwanda

The most convenient option is the registration of intellectual property through the ARIPO. The governing document for the activities of the association is the Banjul protocol (Rwanda has joined the protocol in 2013). According to the treaty, the following can be registered as the trademark:

• Words and various word forms: the name of the organization, proper names, combinations of letters and figures, geographical names;
• Sounds, combinations of sounds, audiologotypes;
• Symbols, pictures, schemes and their combinations;
• Three-dimensional models of goods and their packages.

When submitting the application to the ARIPO, the trademark of the applicant is subject to examination, in which no verification is carried out for the purpose of similarity with the already registered trademarks. After passing the formal examination, the ARIPO sends a request for compliance of the applicant's trademark with the requirements of local copyright legislation to the appropriate authority of each participating country. The term for response is set separately for each request.

After the expiration of the period indicated in the request, the association publishes a notification that the trademark has passed the examination with additional indication of the states that approved the registration of trademark. After publication of the notification, third parties may raise objection concerning registration. If there is no objection in the specified period, then the trademark is officially registered.

In order to register trademark in Rwanda, the applicant will need 9-12 months. Law&Trust provides intermediary and consulting services for registration of trademarks in foreign countries. Law&Trust assists the clients in collecting the required package of documents and monitoring the registration process and also provides assistance in overcoming objections from third parties.