Latest News: Oct 13, 2025 (Newsletter Issue 9/25)
New Intellectual Property Office established
In a major step forward, the Government of Maldives has officially established the Maldives Intellectual Property Office (MIPO) under the Ministry of Economic Development. This follows the publication of the Maldives Intellectual Property Office Regulation 2025 in the Gazette dated 21 August 2025.
According to the notification:
- The Regulation came into force on 21 August 2025, and
- The new IP registration system is expected to become operational by 1 January 2026.
MIPO will administer and enforce all forms of IP rights - trademarks, patents, industrial designs, and copyrights.
While this marks a significant milestone, the Office must still finalize procedures, fee schedules, forms, and the filing infrastructure before accepting applications.
Until then, Cautionary Notices remain the only means of publicly asserting ownership of trademarks in the Maldives.
To prepare for the upcoming system, brand owners may start collating:
- Trademark details (word/logo in high resolution)
- Applicant’s name, address, and legal status
- Class details (goods/services under the Nice Classification)
- Priority documents (if claiming priority from a foreign filing)
- Power of Attorney (template to be shared once formats are released)
Source: www.selvams.com
There is no legislation that provides for the protection of trademarks the Maldives. Trademark protection is acquired by sufficient public recognition.
As there is no method for protecting trademarks in the Maldives, there is no classification system used.
The following trademark types are enforceable by way of the common law: trademarks, service marks, collective marks and certification trademarks
Protection of trademarks is only acquired by way of common law, i.e., by publishing a cautionary notice in the leading newspaper or through use. A cautionary notice may be published for multiple-classes or separate cautionary notices may also be published for each class.
An application can include goods or services in any number of classes, but with additional charges (publication fees with the newspaper company) for each additional class.
A power of attorney is not required.
This entire process of acquiring trademark protection by Publishing a cautionary notice may take approximately 3 to 4 weeks.
National:
By publishing a cautionary notice in the leading newspaper in Maldives as per common law, the public at large are made aware of the sole ownership/proprietorship on the mark and in case of any infringement, the same may be brought to the notice of the Court.
Since there is no trademark law in the Maldives, protection of trademarks is only by way of common law, i.e., by publishing a cautionary notice in the leading newspaper or through use. Therefore, there is no provision for renewal of the mark. However, it is recommended that the cautionary notice(s) be re-published every two to three years.
Practical details on grace periods for trademark renewals are available in our publication
hereSince there is no trademark law in the Maldives, protection of trademarks is only by way of common law, i.e., by publishing cautionary notice in the leading newspaper. Therefore, the publication fee may vary depending on the size of text or content of the cautionary notice.
Currency Converter (Source for exchange-rates:
currencyapi.com)
Find out how much this is in your own currency and convert!
Maldives does not have any trademark law and protection for trademarks in Maldives is only by way of common law. Companies which are desirous of obtaining some trademark protection in Maldives are getting cautionary notices published for their brands in a leading newspaper in Maldives. In this way, as per common law, the public at large is made aware of the sole ownership/proprietorship on the mark and in case of any infringement, the same may be brought to the notice of the Court during any legal proceedings.
Online you can see a limited part of information about this country.
More in-depth details are available for the following aspects:
General Trademark Regulations
Grace Period for Trademark Renewal
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.
Apr 09, 2024
AJ Park, Auckland, New Zealand