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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN TONGA

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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 1994, effective from 1st February 2000, forms the legal basis of trademark registration in Tonga.

  • Tonga is not a member of the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol.

  • For getting a trademark registered in Tonga, an application has to be filed with the Registrar of the Intellectual Property Unit of the Registry and Intellectual Property Office (RIPO) in the Ministry of Commerce, Tourism, and Labour.

  • Tonga follows the 11th edition of Nice Classification. A trademark application can be filed corresponding to both goods and services in the nation. Multiclass trademark applications are permitted 

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

  • In Tonga, 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 five (05) years from the date of registration. 

  • A patent can be registered in Tonga under the Industrial Property Act 1994 (Act No. 19 of 1994), as amended by the Industrial Property (Amendment) Act 2002.

  • Tonga is not a signatory to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Therefore, national phase filing of a PCT patent is not possible.

  • For seeking patent protection in Tonga, an application has to be filed with the Registrar of the Intellectual Property Unit of the Registry and Intellectual Property Office (RIPO) in the Ministry of Commerce, Tourism, and Labour.

  • Patent registrations are valid for twenty (20) years in Tonga. Once the registration has expired, it cannot be renewed.

  • Once a patent has been granted in Tonga, there is an annual fee payable to the Tonga Government every year. The fee is due on the anniversary of the filing date. 

  • There is a grace period of six (06) months for the late payment of the patent annuity with a penalty. 

  • The Industrial Property Act of 1994, effective from 1st February 2000, governs and deals with the mechanism of registration of industrial designs in Tonga.

  • For seeking industrial design protection in Tonga, an application has to be filed with the Registrar of the Intellectual Property Unit of the Registry and Intellectual Property Office (RIPO) in the Ministry of Commerce, Tourism, and Labour.

  • An industrial design can be registered in Tonga if it is new or original (i.e., it has not been disclosed to the public anywhere in the world).

  • The total duration of industrial design registration in Tonga 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. 

  • Tonga is a member of the Berne Convention and the TRIPS Agreement.

  • The Copyright Act (Act No. 12 of 2002) deals with copyright protection in Tonga.

  • In Tonga, copyright protection does not apply to any official text of legislative, administrative, or legal nature or any official translation thereof.

  • 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.