Jun 30, 2022 (Newsletter Issue 8/22)Accession to Geneva Act of Lisbon AgreementOn 2 June 2022, WIPO notified the deposit by the Government of the Czech Republic of its instrument of accession to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications.
The Act will enter into force with respect to the Czech Republic on 2 September 2022.
For more information, please check the notice hereSource: www.wipo.int Apr 04, 2019IP Office Will Not Accept Merger Request of Intl. RegistrationThe Czech Republic has notified WIPO in accordance with new Rule 27ter(2)(b) of the Common Regulations under the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and the Protocol Relating to that Agreement (the Common Regulations), which entered into force on February 1, 2019.
In the said notification, the IP Office has declared that its law does not provide for the merger of registrations of a mark and that, as a result, its Office will not present to the International Bureau of WIPO requests for the merger of international registrations resulting from division under new Rule 27ter(2)(a).
For further information, please click hereSource: www.wipo.int Jan 31, 2019 (Newsletter Issue 1/19)
Important Amendments to Trademark Law
As of January 1, 2019, new and significant amendments in the Czech trademark law came into force. Some of the amendments are below:
- The local Patent Office will not check for earlier identical trademarks when examining new applications.
- The owners of such rights will have an opportunity to file oppositions in order to protect its registered signs.
- The graphical representation requirement of a trademark has been abandoned. Trademarks can be expressed in any form capable of reproduction, provided it allows for a clear and precise determination of the subject of the trademark protection.
- New claims arising from IP rights ownership (unauthorized use of registered trademarks in the names of corporations and in comparative advertising expressly recognized as trademark infringement)
Source: www.kinstellar.com
Legal basis is the new Trademark Act no. 441/2003 of December 3rd, 2003, in force since April 1st, 2004. The Czech Republic is a member of the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol, TRIPs, Paris Convention, WIPO Convention, Trademark Law Treaty and Nice Agreement. Since May 1st, 2004, the Czech Republic is a member of the European Union.
Trademark protection is obtained by registration. It can also be acquired by sufficient public use.
Owner of trademarks that were protected in former Czechoslovakia were able to choose whether their trademarks should be protected in only one or in both successor states.
Nice classification, 11th edition
A trademark may be any sign, in particular words, including personal names, colours, drawings, letters, numbers, the shape of a product or its packaging, or sounds if it is capable to
(a) distinguish the goods or services of one person from the products or services of another person and
(b) be represented in the trade mark register in a way that the competent authorities as well as the public may recognize the subject of protection precisely.
The following trademark types are registrable: trademarks, service marks, collective marks, certification marks.
Protectable non-traditional trademarks: 3-D, colours, holograms, pattern, position, motion, audio visual, sound marks, certification marks. This list may be not be exhaustive.
The application is filed at the Patent Office.
Multiple-class applications are possible.
Applicants without a registered seat/permanent residence and/or a real business/undertaking in the Czech Republic need a local agent.
A non-legalised simply signed power of attorney is sufficient, scan copy is enough.
Foreign applicants do not need a domestic registration.
The application process includes a formal examination, an examination of distinctiveness but no search for prior trademarks. Signs not deemed distinctive in the examination can be registered if distinctiveness has been acquired by use.
Disclaimers - the exclusion of non-distinctive elements from the scope of protection of a mark - were abolished by the changes to the Act as of January 1, 2019.
The processing time from first filing to registration is approx. 6 to 10 months.
Before registration, the trademark application is published in the electronic Official Gazette of the Czech Industrial Property Office. At the end of the opposition period, the trademark is registered and published if no opposition has been filed or opposition has been rejected.
National:The opposition period is 3 months from publication of the trademark application in the Official Gazette (non-extendable).
Details regarding the
Opposition Period against designation of IR Mark are available in our publication on this topic
here
Protection begins with the date of application. A trademark registration is valid for 10 years from date of application. The registration is renewable for periods of 10 years.
Practical details on grace periods for trademark renewals are available in our publication
herePractical details on trademark use requirements are available in our publication
hereThe official fee for filing a trademark application is CZK 5,000 for up to three classes and CZK 500 for each additional class. The registration fee and the publication fee are not paid.
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Practical details on trademark licensing are available in our publication
hereOnline you can see a limited part of information about this country.
More in-depth details are available for the following aspects:
General Trademark Regulations
Trademark Use Requirements
Grace Period for Trademark Renewal
Trademark Licensing
If you like to purchase all available information for this country, click the order button.
The total price is
49.00 EUR. A PDF-Download will be sent to you electronically.
Jun 21, 2023
Rott, Růžička & Guttmann a spol., Praha 4, Czech Republic
