Latvian Trademark Protection System
In Latvia, a trademark refers to any symbol that can be represented graphically and can distinguish a company’s goods or services from those of other companies. Latvia registers trademarks in accordance with its Trademark and Geographical Indication Law.
Once a trademark is authorized, no one is allowed to use it within Latvia without the permission of the rights holder.
LRPV Introduction to the Latvian Intellectual Property Office
The Latvian Patent Office (Patentu valde, LRPV) is directly supervised and managed by the Minister of Justice and has statutory powers in the field of industrial property. The functions of the bureau include:
- Implement public policies in the field of industrial property rights;
- Fulfill the functions of the National Industrial Property Office as stipulated in international agreements that are binding on Latvia;
- Record and preserve industrial property rights, and provide other industrial property services;
- Enhance national and societal awareness of industrial property protection.
website：www.lrpv.gov.lv
address：Citadeles iela 7/70, Rīga, LV-1010, Latvija
Telephone：+371 6709 9600
Fax：+371 6709 9650
Email：valde@lrpv.gov.lv
Introduction to Trademark Registration in Latvia
3.1 A symbol that can be used as a trademark
A trademark can include any graphic representation that can distinguish a company’s goods or services from those of other companies. The objects that can be used as trademarks include:
3.1.1 Text, including letters, words, surnames, numbers, and slogans;
3.1.2 Graphics, including images, paintings, graphic symbols, colors, and combinations of colors;
3.1.3 Three dimensional shapes, including the shape of the product or its packaging;
3.1.4 Combination of the above items;
3.1.5 Special types or trademarks, such as sound or light signals.
Any of the following situations cannot be used as a trademark:
3.1.6 is unethical, misleading, or constitutes a description of the product;
3.1.7 Confusion with prior or well-known trademarks in Latvia;
3.1.8 Infringement of personal rights, copyright, and other rights of others.
LRPV can refuse to register such trademarks, or have the rights holder raise objections after registration.
3.2 Collective trademark
The collective trademark (Kolekt ī v ā z ī me) for goods or services cannot be used by individuals or individual enterprises, but by industry associations, chambers of commerce, etc. of manufacturing, trading, or service enterprises.
3.3 Trademark protection period
The trademark protection period in Latvia starts from the date of application and lasts for 10 years, which can be renewed upon expiration. Renewal can be repeated indefinitely, and the validity period of each renewal registration is 10 years, calculated from the day after the expiration of the previous validity period of the trademark.
Latvian Trademark Registration Procedure
There are three ways to obtain a valid registered trademark in Latvia: (1) international registration through the Madrid System of International Trademark Registration, designating the European Union or Latvia; (2) Apply for registration of an EU trademark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO); (3) Apply directly to LRPV for the registration of a Latvian trademark.
4.1 Procedure for directly applying for a Latvian trademark with LRPV
4.1.1 Submit Application
Trademark application documents
(1) After printing and signing the electronic spreadsheet, the paper document can be submitted to LRPV;
(2) You can send the electronically signed spreadsheet via email（ valde@lrpv.gov.lv ）Sent to LRPV, but this is not equivalent to submitting an application online and does not enjoy any fee discounts;
(3) You can submit application documents through the trademark online application system and pay through designated online banking at the same time, and enjoy a 10% discount on fees. The Latvian National Regional Development Agency collaborates with certification service providers to provide access to LRPV electronic services. To complete and submit an electronic application, the applicant must use one of the following authentication tools on the website for identity verification:
A trademark registration application can only contain one logo, and the required content for submitting the application includes:
(1) Trademark registration application form (completed application form), including a list of goods and/or services using the trademark, in one copy.
The list of goods and services is crucial for clarifying the scope of trademark protection, and should accurately identify the goods and/or services as much as possible and classify them by category (Nice classification). However, it is not enough to only indicate the category number in the application, specific types of goods and/or services must be mentioned. Applicants should note that once the application is submitted, the list of goods and/or services may not be supplemented and only items can be removed from it. Therefore, if it is necessary to expand the protection scope of a trademark to new goods or services, a separate application for registration of the same trademark must be submitted.
(2) The attached drawings of the pending logo (excluding textual trademarks), with a suggested image size of 8 cm * 8 cm, in four copies (one of which is attached to the application form). If submitting electronic files, the allowed file types include: JPEG, JPG, BMP, TIFF, TIF, PNG; The file cannot exceed 15MB; The minimum image resolution is 300 pixels. The attached diagram (drawing or photograph) of a 3D logo can be one or more images from different viewpoints, and should be placed on one A4 paper, with explanations provided for areas that may cause misunderstandings (such as up or down).
(3) The application fee must be paid within one month from the application date. If the application involves more than one category of goods or services, an additional fee will be charged for each additional category. If the applicant fails to pay the application fee within one month, the trademark application date will be postponed until the date when LRPV receives the application fee and other additional fees. If the trademark is declared registrable, the applicant also needs to pay a registration fee; If the trademark application is rejected, the application fee will not be refunded.
(4) If the application is submitted through an agent, an authorization letter should be attached to the application. If the authorization letter covers multiple applications, separate copies must be attached to each application form.
For certain types of trademarks, the application should also meet additional requirements:
(1) If the applied trademark is a textual trademark and the applicant does not wish to protect it in any specific graphic form, the trademark should be entered in the blank space provided in the application form. In this case, LRPV will register and publish the trademark using the standard characters commonly used. Symbols composed of words can include Latin letters, Cyrillic letters, Arabic numerals, Roman numerals, and commonly used punctuation marks; You can combine uppercase and lowercase letters.
(2) If the applied trademark contains words with specific meanings but not in Latvian, an accurate translation of the trademark should be provided in the trademark description. If the symbol contains words that are not Latin or Cyrillic, it is best to use Latin characters to represent transliteration in the description.
(3) When applying for a trademark of a specific color or color combination, it must be clearly stated in the application and the description must be accurate.
(4) If the application is for a three-dimensional trademark, it must be clearly stated in the application.
(5) If the trademark application contains sound, a recording should be attached.
When applying for registration of a collective trademark, in addition to the above-mentioned documents and materials, it is also necessary to submit the collective trademark management agency (applicant) or its authorized person’s approved regulations for the use of the collective trademark. The regulations should include a list of individuals or enterprises authorized to use collective trademarks, rules for trademark use and their implementation details, as well as possible penalties for violations of these rules.
4.1.2 Preliminary Examination (Pieteikuma iepriek š ē j ā izskat ī š ana)
Within 3 months after receiving the application, LRPV will conduct a preliminary review of the application documents and determine the application date.
If the application documents do not meet or only partially meet the requirements, LRPV will notify the applicant in writing of the examination opinions and require the applicant to make modifications within 3 months. If the applicant fails to make modifications within the time limit, the application will be deemed never submitted; If there are still significant defects after modification, the application will be rejected. LRPV will also notify the applicant in writing of the above situation.
If the application documents meet the requirements, LRPV will conduct further examination of the application and notify the applicant of the decision.
4.1.3 Trademark Examination (Pre č u z ī mes ekspert ī ze)
LRPV will conduct an examination within 3 months after accepting the application to determine whether the applied logo meets the requirements of Latvia’s Trademark and Geographical Indication Law.
During the review process, LRPV has the right to request the applicant to provide necessary supplementary materials and documents for the review, with a submission deadline of 3 months. During the deadline for supplementary materials, the 3-month review period for LRPV is temporarily suspended from calculation.
If LRPV finds that the logo cannot be registered or partially registered, it will notify the applicant and explain the reasons. LRPV will make a decision as soon as the deadline for applicants to submit explanations expires.
If the application is approved for examination, LRPV will make a decision to grant trademark registration.
At any stage of LRPV processing an application, the applicant has the right to withdraw the entire application or remove goods and services from the list of goods and services applied for, but LRPV will not refund the fees already paid by the applicant.
4.1.4 Trademark Registration
After the application is reviewed by LRPV, once the applicant pays the prescribed fee, LRPV will confirm the trademark and its detailed information for registration and publication.
The registration of the trademark in the National Register of Trademarks will be carried out simultaneously with its publication in the official LRPV journal.
After the trademark is registered and published, LRPV will issue a trademark registration certificate to the trademark owner.
4.1.5 Appeals and Objections
If the applicant or other relevant personnel (trademark owner, former owner, assignee, licensee) disagree with LRPV’s decision in whole or in part, they have the right to appeal to the Industrial Property Appeals Board in accordance with the Industrial Property Institutions and Procedures Law.
Within 3 months after the trademark is published, any interested party may file an objection to the trademark registration with LRPV. The submission and review of objection statements are governed by the Industrial Property Institutions and Procedures Law.
For more information, please refer to the official website of LRPV and the Latvian Trademark and Geographical Indication Law.
Introduction to Hungarian Trademark Office Fees
| Project | Amount (Euro) |
| Submit Trademark Registration Application | 90 |
| Submit collective trademark registration application | 120 |
| The goods/services specified in the trademark or collective trademark registration application exceed Class 1 | +30/Class |
| In addition to changing the address, the applicant requests to modify, standardize, or correct documents at the time of application | 20 |
| Trademark registration, including certificate granting and public announcement | 95 |
| Renewal of Registered Trademark | 180 |
| Renewal of collective trademark | 240 |
| Appeal | 150 |
| Submit an objection against trademark registration | 180 |
| Registration of Trademark Rights Transfer or License Contract Filing | 45 |
For more information, please refer to the official LRPV website and relevant laws and regulations.