How to protect your Trademark in Myanmar?

Myanmar neither has promulgated the intellectual property law in which includes legislation covering trademarks nor provides a formal system of IP rights registration. A trademark in Myanmar may be registered by means of a declaration of ownership under Part III: Of Registrable Documents, Section 18 (F) which is provided for registration of Trademarks by Direction 13 of the Myanmar Registration Act (Direction No. 13 of the Inspector General of Registration). Under Direction 13, trademarks can be registered at the Yangon Registration Office of the Settlement and Land Records Department (SLRD).

1. Registration of Trademark in Myanmar

1.1. Requirements

For filing application of a trademark in Myanmar, the following documents are required:

(i) A Power of Attorney, which should be executed by a legal representative of Applicant, then certified by a Notary Public, finally legalized at Myanmar Embassy or Consulate in country of the applicant, and if unavailable, legalized at Myanmar Embassy or Consulate another country is accepted;

(ii) A Declaration of Ownership, which should be executed by a legal representative of Applicant, then certified by a Notary Public (the same person, who signed on the Power of Attorney is recommended);

(iii) A specimen of the trademark in JPG. file with resolution at least 300DPI.

(iv) A list of goods and/or services in accordance with the International Classification on which the application is to be applied.

1.2. Endorsement

To grant the certificate of trademark registration, the Myanmar registry will endorse the Declaration of Ownership by affixing the official stamps.

1.3. Time frame

The average time from filing up to acquiring the registration will be about 2 – 3 months.

2. Publication of Trademark Announcement in Myanmar

The publication of Trademark Cautionary Notice in local newspaper should be done after the registration of trademark. The purpose of publishing a Cautionary Notice is to inform the public about the registration and claim to ownership and warning against the potential infringement. In addition, the publication of a Cautionary Notice is necessary since the Registry Office does not allow searches by third parties, therefore the only way for the public to know about the trademark ownership are through Cautionary Notice. The publication of Cautionary Notice together with registration will strengthen the trademark ownership in case disputes or passing-off action. However, the publication of a Cautionary Notice is NOT mandatory by any law. It is an established practice in Myanmar. The advantages are:

• It would be viewed as data sources for trademark search by third party,
• To combine with the Trademark Ownership recordal to strengthen the trademark ownership in case of disputes,
• To claim ownership to public and warn against infringement.

There are two options for publishing a Trademark Announcement on local newspaper that is in black and white or in full color (with standard size: 12cm in length x 8.2cm in width).

In Myanmar, trademark renewal is NOT compulsory but it is advisable to renew the trademark in 3 or 5 years. In order to renew the trademark in Myanmar, submission of Declaration of Renewal of Trademark and Power of Attorney is required. Each trademark must be filed in one separate Declaration with a copy of the original registration document.

In case you require more information or require advice on trademark in Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia as well as other IP matters, please do not hesitate to contact us via email: info@apta.vn