On January 30, 2019, Myanmar’s Trademark Law, expected for a long time was enacted into law, which establishes the framework for the complete trademark registration system, open to both foreign and local trademark proprietors. Once the administrative structures and enabling legislation to support this system will be in place, the existing trademark holders who have already registered their marks under Myanmar’s old system will have to file a new Trademark Application to secure their rights under the new law.
Under the new law, Trademark Registration will last for a period of 10 years from the date of filing and can be renewed after every 10 years. Registration will now be on a first-to-file system, rather than the previous first-to-use system. Registered Trademarks may also have an advantage from a right to claim priority from any application within the prior six months filed in a Paris Convention country.
Among several noteworthy changes, the new law also presents criminal penalties for the issues of Trademark Infringement and counterfeiting, which range up to imprisonment of three years with a fine of USD 3,250 approximately. The judiciary is also provided with special powers to set up specific IP courts, however, it is still not very clear if there is any place to implement the same in the coming future.
In addition, the new law also establishes the Central Committee for Intellectual Property Rights, and the Intellectual Property Rights Agency for collectively having the jurisdiction over the registration system of trademarks in Myanmar.
As the administrative bodies necessary for the new system are still being established in Myanmar, the trademark applications for registration under the new law are still not being accepted. For the implementation of required regulations and establishment of Intellectual Property Offices, no timeline has been determined. New recordal applications, renewals of existing recordals, and other such trademark declarations are all being still accepted under the old system as of January 31, 2019.
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