Trademark registration in Uganda

Registration of trademarks in Uganda

Many companies from different fields of activity expand their businesses to more distant territories.

Uganda, located in East Africa, is a frequent choice of our clients. It's quite easy to go through the process of registering trademark, and with the help of our lawyers you will not notice any inconvenience and problems at all. In order to register trademark in Uganda, it is possible to apply several systems, namely:

lNational one. We submit your application to the national intellectual property office of the country;

lRegional one. Since Uganda is part of the African regional intellectual property organization, this option is also possible;

lThere is also international system, but Uganda did not sign the Madrid agreement, so this method of registration is not applicable to the country.

There are two regional systems in the state that register trademark and are governed by various commissions. They are the APIRO and the OAPI systems. Each of them has its own requirements for the applicants, but they differ insignificantly.

You can specify the details regarding these two systems by phone or in chat. Our lawyers thoroughly understand the intricacies of both organizations, so you can select the one that is more suitable for you.

Procedure of registering a brand name in Uganda

The entire process is under the control of our specialists, so you, as the client, do not have to worry about anything until the moment you obtain permission for business activity. The client needs to leave the request, sign the application for registration of trademark, and the power of attorney for one of our lawyers who will supervise you concerning legal issues throughout the entire duration of our cooperation.

Only scan of the passport is necessary to be personally provided by the client, and the client can send it without leaving the office. After receiving all of the above documents, we will start to perform our tasks, and more specifically:

1. Obtaining all the documents indicated in the list of required ones. We will contact the tax authorities, your accounting department and shareholders. The Charter of the company and the letters of recommendation  are often required to be added to the of documents, and we will also receive the foregoing due to the power of attorney.
2. Translation of the collected documentation package. English is the language used in Uganda and our experts guarantee professional legal interpretation. Each blank, form and statement should be certified. Our notary certifies all the documents.
3. Sending is carried out by courier or by special courier services.
4. Consideration by the APIRO or the OAPI Commissions takes about 12 months, but there are no particularly stringent verifications, so you can be sure of obtaining trademark.
5. Issuance of trademark for the period of 10 years with possible renewal. Upon the expiry of the term, renewal can be carried out with our help.