MYANMAR: Businesses Called Upon to Re-Register Existing Trademarks

Under the terms of its newly‑enacted Trademark Law, the country is to abolish its existing first-to-use trademark registration system in favour of a first-to-file approach as of 1 October. This date will mark the beginning of a six-month transition period, during which all businesses that have previously registered a trademark will be required to re‑register. While trademarks in use prior to 1 October but never registered may also be registered during this time, no applications for new trademarks will be accepted until the end of the transition period. This is intended to allow existing trademark owners to secure their rights prior to 1 April 2021, the date when the new system fully supersedes all previous arrangements.

All applications may be either filed online with the Myanmar Department of Intellectual Property or via a trademark registration agent. Among the required supporting documents are the Recorded Declaration of Ownership (as held by the Office of the Registration of Deeds); a Published Trademark Cautionary Notice (an announcement of trademark ownership made via a newspaper or comparable medium); classes and list of the relevant goods/services (as per the international Nice Classification); examples of the trademark; and evidence of actual use (such as advertisements, tax receipts or expense vouchers).