There is currently no written trademark legal system in Myanmar, and trademark protection is mainly achieved through filing at the registration office and issuing warning notices in local newspapers and magazines. In recent years, there have been rumors that Myanmar will implement a new Trademark Law, but it has not been implemented yet. After years of preparation, the implementation of Myanmar's new Trademark Law has finally taken a big step forward. Following the release of Notice No. 63/2020 by the Myanmar Ministry of Commerce on August 28, 2020, which guided the implementation of the "6-month transition period", it was announced that the new Myanmar Intellectual Property Office would start accepting new applications for the "transition period" from October 1, 2020, and it is expected that this trial operation will last for at least 6 months until the "grand opening". After the end of the "transition period", all officially applied trademarks will be closer to international practices and undergo formal examination, substantive examination, announcement, opposition, and registration stages.
The Myanmar Intellectual Property Office is responsible for managing trademark affairs, and the official language is Burmese. Due to Myanmar's lack of formal accession to the Madrid Agreement or Madrid Protocol, trademark registration can only be processed through "single country registration".
Through the interpretation of the new Trademark Law, Myanmar adopts the Nice Classification 11th edition for the description of goods and services and accepts applications for multiple categories. The elements that can be registered as trademarks in Myanmar include: text, name, graphics, color, letters, numbers, etc.
If the applicant does not reside in Myanmar, they must entrust a specialized agent in their home country to handle the matter. The basic materials required for trademark application are:
1. Trademark design;
2. Specific categories and product/service items;
3. Name and address of the applicant;
4. Trademark description;
5.If priority is declared, priority proof documents and corresponding English translations must be provided.
The main process for applying for registration of a Myanmar trademark is: application acceptance examination announcement approval issuance. 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 distinctiveness of the trademark and whether it violates the prohibition and prohibition clauses. 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, it will be arranged for public announcement. The objection period is 60 days from the date of announcement, and any interested party or prior right holder may raise objections. The main reasons for raising objections are:
1. Conflict with prior trademarks, such as owning a prior registered trademark;
2. The trademark lacks distinctiveness;
3. The trademark has adverse effects;
4. Malicious registration;
5. Conflict with other prior rights, such as trade name rights, design rights, copyright, etc.
If there are no objections or objections are not valid during the announcement period, registration can be approved and a registration certificate can be issued. If everything goes smoothly, trademark registration in Myanmar will take about six months; If things don't go smoothly and there are objections or rejections along the way, the time will be greatly extended.
The Myanmar trademark is valid for 10 years after registration, starting from the date of application; Renewal can be processed 6 months before the expiration date, with a grace period of 6 months; The renewal is valid for 10 years.