INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN MONGOLIA
Opposition Term |
N/A |
Registration Term |
10 Years |
First Renewal Term |
10 Years |
Subsequent Renewal Term |
10 Years |
The amended Law of Mongolia on Trademarks and Geographical Indications, which came into effect on 25th July 2010, is the primary law governing the mechanism of trademark registration and protection.
The Intellectual Property Office of Mongolia (IPOM) is the main regulatory body in charge of all the IP-related matters in the territory of Mongolia. Upon registration with IPOM, the trademark owner will be able to exercise his or her exclusive rights granted to him or her under the trademark law.
It follows a 'first-to-file’ system. Therefore, a potential trademark owner does not have any protection over his or her trademark in Mongolia unless his or her trademark is registered in the trademark owner's name with the Intellectual Property Office of Mongolia (IPOM).
Mongolia follows the 10th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are possible in Mongolia.
Filing opposition against pending trademark applications is not possible. An opposition should be filed against registered trademarks only.
Registered trademarks last for ten (10) years from the date of filing, which may be further renewed indefinitely for successive periods of ten (10) years each. A request to renew a trademark may be submitted within twelve (12) months before the expiration of a registered trademark.
The grace period to renew a trademark after the date of the expiry is six (06) months.
The term for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is five (05) years from the date of registration.
Mongolia is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
Law of Mongolia on Patent/Revised Edition/January 19, 2006 - deals with the mechanism of patent protection in Mongolia.
An application for an invention needs to be filed with the Intellectual Property Office by a creator or a natural or a legal person to whom the rights have been assigned.
In Mongolia, an invention that satisfies the conditions of originality, 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 and Convention Application.
In Mongolia, opposition against a patent application can be raised at the pre-grant stage within three (03) months approximately.
Patents last for twenty (20) years and utility models last for seven (07) years.
The maintenance fee for the first three (03) years needs to be paid in lump sum within six (06) months from the date of the decision to grant a patent. Next maintenance fee for subsequent periods is required to be paid within six (06) months in advance for each period.
The fees for the first three (03) years are paid with the grant of the patent and the remaining annuities are required to be paid every year.
Law of Mongolia on Patent/Revised Edition/January 19, 2006 - deals with the mechanism of industrial designs protection in Mongolia.
An application for industrial design registration needs to be filed with the Intellectual Property Office by a creator or a natural or a legal person to whom the rights have been assigned.
The types of industrial design applications that can be filed in Mongolia include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
Utility model protection isn't provided under industrial design but under the patent law in the nation.
An industrial design patent certificate shall be granted if, within three (03) months from the date of publication of the drawings of an industrial design and the bibliographical data concerned, no opposition has been filed with the Intellectual Property Office or no dispute has been arisen.
The industrial design in Mongolia is valid for ten (10) years from the filing date, which can’t be renewed any further.
There is no grace period to renew a registered industrial design.
Annuities for the first three (03) years are paid with the grant of the application, and must be paid each year thereafter.
Mongolia is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Law of Mongolia on Copyright and Related Rights (Revised text) January 19, 2006 - is the basic legislation governing copyright protection in Mongolia.
No certification is required for establishment and enjoyment of copyright.
In Mongolia, the copyright registering body is implementer agency of the Government of Mongolia Intellectual Property Office of Mongolia.
The term of copyright protection concerning a particular work begins from the day of its creation. The authors enjoy the exclusive rights to their creative works during their entire life and for fifty (50) years after their death. The term of intangible rights of an author has no time limitations.
In the case of pseudonymous or anonymous works, the exclusive rights of an author in copyrighted works begin from 1st January of the year following the year the first publication of a work and remain valid for seventy-five (75) years.
In case of the co-authorship, copyright protection lasts for the lifetime of the authors and for a period of fifty (50) years from 1st January of the year following the death of the last surviving author.
The term of protection to be granted to the performers is fifty (50) years from the date when the performance or the recording of the performance was made.
The term of rights concerning the rights of the broadcasting organizations lasts for a period of fifty (50) years from 1st January of the year following the year in which the first broadcast took place.