News: Trademark registration in Bhutan

Registration of trademarks in Bhutan

Trademark in Bhutan is necessary for conducting business activity in any sphere that is permitted by the legislation of the state. Sale of goods or provision of services without availability of trademark is illegal and falls under administrative punishment.

 It is possible to register trademark in Bhutan with the help of the specialists of Law&Trust. Professional lawyers guarantee all clients free legal advice, as well as providing full range of services to obtain positive response for application concerning trademark registration in Bhutan.

Procedure of trademark registration in Bhutan

Selection of registration system

Jurisdiction of Bhutan stipulates two procedures for registering a brand name in Bhutan:

1. National. It is characterized by the shortened terms of consideration of the application, and the period does not exceed 12 months. The logo is carefully verified for uniqueness, however, reconciliation is performed only with those trademarks having effect in the territory of Bhutan. After approval of the application, businessman can establish branches in any city of the state, but not outside its borders.

2. International. Bhutan is among the 97 countries participating in the Madrid Protocol and the Agreement, which means that it is possible to file one application and one package of official documents in this country for subsequent activities in all countries from the protocol registry. There are restrictions on the period of consideration of the application in this procedure, thus, the process can not take more than 18 months, and reconciliation of the emblem is carried out among all the logos issued in the territory of 97 states.

Requirements for logos when registering trademark

Graphical interpretation can include any symbols and signs, words or figures, as well as their combinations in any sequence, proper names, pictures, schemes, graphs, or diagrams. According to the regulations of Bhutan and the rules of the Madrid Agreement, it is forbidden to:

• Use of state symbols or their elements;

• Application of mottos, quotes, utterances or names and designations of famous personalities and corporations if there is no personal permission of the latter;

• Use calls for war, terrorist acts, extremism and violation of laws on the logo;

• Application of elements that can offend feelings, as well as placement of immoral details on the trademark.

The abovementioned processes should be performed under the control of the lawyer of Law & Trust.

The specialist not only helps to select the system of registration of the trademark and will conduct preliminary examination of the emblem for compliance with all regulations, he will also collect and prepare complete package of documentation.

Collection of extracts and statements is carried out on the basis of power of attorney, which the client provides to the specialist. All forms are professionally translated and notarized.

The stages of consideration are monitored, in view of which the client always knows what term remained before the decision will be taken by the expert commission.