The current trademark regulations in the Czech Republic are mainly based on the Trademark Law of December 3, 2003. The Czech Industrial Property Office is responsible for managing trademark affairs and the official language is Czech. 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. Czech trademark registration adopts the principle of "application first", but in some cases, trademark rights can also be claimed based on "prior use".
The Czech Republic is a party to international intellectual property treaties such as the TRIPS Agreement, 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 a member of the European Union. Therefore, trademark registration can be processed through "single country registration", "EU registration", or "Madrid International Registration".
At present, the Czech Republic adopts the Nice Classification 11th edition of product and service descriptions and accepts applications for multiple categories in one form. The elements that can be registered as trademarks in Czech Republic include: text, names, letters, numbers, graphics, colors, color combinations, three-dimensional logos, etc.
Natural or legal persons who do not have a domicile, main place of business, or a genuine and valid business enterprise in the Czech Republic 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 Czech trademark is: application - examination - announcement - approval and issuance of certificates. The application will be accepted approximately one month 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 review 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 is passed, an announcement will be arranged. The 3-month period from the date of announcement is the objection period. Any interested party may raise objections to the registration of the trademark with the Industrial Property Office. 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, copyrights, personal names, etc.
If there are no objections or objections are not established during the announcement period, the trademark can be approved for registration and a registration certificate can be issued. If everything goes smoothly, Czech trademark registration takes about one year; If things don't go smoothly and there are rejections or objections along the way, the time will be greatly extended.
Czech trademark registration is valid for 10 years, 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.