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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN BHUTAN

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Opposition Term

03 Months

Registration Term

10 Years

First Renewal Term

10 Years

Subsequent Renewal Term

10 Years

  • The Industrial Property Act of 2001 is the primary law governing the mechanism of trademark registration in Bhutan. 

  • The Intellectual Property Division is responsible for trademark registrations in Bhutan. 

  • Bhutan is a member of WIPO. It is also a signatory to the Paris Convention, Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, and Madrid Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement.  

  •  Bhutan follows the 11th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are acceptable. 

  • The third parties can file opposition actions against a trademark application within three (03) months following its publication in the official gazette.   

  • In Bhutan, registered trademarks have a validity of ten (10) years from the date of application, which can be further renewed indefinitely for successive periods of ten (10) years each.   

  • The grace period to renew a trademark after the date of expiry is six (06) months. 

  • The period for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is three (03) years from the date of registration. 

  • Bhutan is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.

  • The Industrial Property Act of the Kingdom of Bhutan, 2001 deals with the mechanism of patent protection.

  • In Bhutan, an invention that satisfies the conditions of novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability, subjects to patentability. Process patent and product patent are the two types of patents that can be protected.  

  • The types of patent applications that can be filed include Non-Convention Application, Convention Application, and Divisional Application. 

  • In Bhutan, opposition proceedings against a patent application can't be initiated.  

  • The patent of invention lasts for twenty (20) years in Bhutan. Patent annuities are required to be duly paid in advance to the Registrar for each year, beginning one year after the filing date of application for grant of the patent.  

  • The Industrial Property Act of the Kingdom of Bhutan, 2001 governs and deals with the mechanism of registration of industrial designs.

  • The types of industrial design applications that can be filed in Bhutan include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application. 

  • Opposition against an industrial design application can't be raised in Bhutan.  

  • The total duration of industrial design registration in Bhutan is fifteen (15) years from the date of application. The initial registration term is five (05) years, which is further extendible for two (02) terms of five (05) years each upon payment of the renewal fee. 

  • There is a grace period of six (06) months to renew a registered industrial design.   

  • Bhutan is a member country of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It is also a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. 

  • The Copyright Act, 2001 is the basic legislation governing copyright protection in Bhutan. 

  • The standard copyright protection term lasts for the lifetime of the author plus fifty (50) years following his death. However, the duration of copyright protection varies depending on the type of work. 

  •  For joint authorship, the term of protection is the life of the last surviving author and for fifty (50) years after his death.

  • For a collective work, other than a work of applied art, and in the case of an audio-visual work, the protection term is fifty (50) years from the date on which the work was first published.  

  • For work published anonymously or under a pseudonym, the protection term is fifty (50) years from the date on which the work was first published.  

  • For a work of applied art, the protection term is twenty-five (25) years from the making of the work.