The current trademark regulations in Belarus are mainly based on the Goods and Services Trademark Law No. 2181-XII of February 5, 1993. The Belarusian Intellectual Property Office is responsible for managing trademark affairs and the official language is Russian. Trademark exclusive rights need to be obtained through registration. Trademark registration is not mandatory, but in order to better protect the trademark or renew it, it must be registered in accordance with the law. The trademark registration in Belarus follows the principle of "application first", but in some cases, trademark rights can also be claimed based on "prior use".
Belarus is a party to international intellectual property treaties such as the Nairobi Treaty, Paris Convention, Nice Agreement, and Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization. It is also a member of the Madrid Agreement and Madrid Protocol, and trademark registration can be processed through "single country registration" or "Madrid international registration".
At present, the Belarusian Intellectual Property Office adopts the Nice Classification 11th edition for the description of goods and services, and can accept applications for multiple categories in one form. The elements that can be registered as trademarks in Belarus include: text, names, letters, numbers, graphics, color combinations, three-dimensional shapes, etc.
Natural or legal persons who do not have a domicile, main place of business, or a genuine and valid business enterprise in Belarus must entrust a specialized agent in that country to handle the matter. The basic materials required for trademark application are:
1. Trademark design;
2. Category and specific product items;
3. Name and address of the applicant;
4. Power of attorney;
5.If priority is declared, proof of priority must be provided.
The main process for applying for registration of a Belarusian trademark is: application examination approval and issuance of certificates. The application will be accepted 1-2 weeks after submission. The examiner will conduct formal and substantive examinations on the application. Formal review mainly examines whether the application requirements and classification information comply with regulations; The substantive examination includes the examination of the distinctiveness of the trademark, whether it violates the prohibition and prohibition clauses, and whether it conflicts with the prior trademark. If the examination fails, a rejection notice will be issued and the applicant will be required to respond within the time limit specified in the rejection notice. If the substantive examination passes, a registration certificate will be issued.
Belarus has no objection announcement procedure, and only applies for revocation after trademark registration. In a smooth situation, trademark registration in Belarus takes about one year; If things don't go smoothly and there is a rejection midway, the time will be greatly extended.
The Belarusian trademark is valid for 10 years after registration, starting from the date of application; Renewal can be processed within 12 months before the expiration date, with a grace period of 6 months; The renewal is valid for 10 years.