On January 31, 2019, the new Trademark Law of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (hereinafter, Myanmar) was enacted. The fundamental pillars of the new Law are based on a trademark registration system First to File where the first to access the registry will be the first to obtain trademark rights in this country.
To date, Myanmar did not have a Trademark Law and, failing that, the owners could protect themselves against possible unfair acts preventively and for evidentiary purposes. Preventive measures generally consisted of recording a declaration of ownership in an official register (DTO) followed by publication in a local journal or newspaper. It was recommended to adopt precautionary measures approximately every 3 years.
The new Law has not yet entered into force and all its regulatory, organizational, administrative and structural development is pending, including the launch of the Intellectual Property Office. Therefore, at the moment, it is not possible to file trademark applications and it is not predictable how long it will take for the Intellectual Property Office to be operational. The official rates are not published, nor is it known whether the registration system that will govern will be single-class or multi-class, very relevant issues that are still up in the air.
However, given this new possibility offered by the new Burmese Law, those holders with interests in the country should review their portfolios and adopting the pertinent strategic decisions regarding the protection of their brands to, as soon as the Intellectual Property Office is inaugurated, try to win a filing date.
It is important to consider that it is highly probable that there is NO Sunrise Period nor do previous registrations of DTOs be taken into account, according to our sources. Consequently, in the case of those owners who have adopted precautionary measures in the past and have registered DTOs, they would not be able to benefit from the protection previously acquired, and to protect their brands they would have to file trademark applications. scratch, under the new Law and before the Burmese Trademark Office.
Likewise, in this new scenario, those who have never protected their trademarks in Myanmar and wish to do so now should make the relevant decisions and take an interest in the preparations aimed at this.
It is very important to keep in mind that to date, The Republic of the Union of Myanmar does not have consular representation in Spain and that those documents, such as powers and/or authorizations required by the Intellectual Property Office to act before it, must be recognized by a consular representation of this country abroad. From Spain, the closest consular representation is located in Paris, France, which can cause significant delays in the procedures.
In case it is of your interest, we attach a link with more information: «Myanmar: Soon opening of a “Soft Opening” period for trademark owners registered with the Office of Registration of Deeds, in January 2020″
Author Cristina Arroyo
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