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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN TUVALU

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Opposition Term

N/A

Registration Term

Valid till the corresponding UK Trademark Registration Term

First Renewal Term

10 Years

Subsequent Renewal Term

10 Years

  • The Registration of United Kingdom Trade Marks Ordinance [Cap 63], which is in force since 22nd August 1939, governs and deals with the mechanism of trademark registration in Tuvalu.

  • Only the trademark owner of a UK-based trademark registration can apply for the same mark corresponding to the same goods or services in Tuvalu, for which authorization of an agent and a certified copy of the UK-based trademark registration are required.

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

  • For getting a trademark registered in Tuvalu, an application has to be filed at the Office of the Attorney-General.

  • It follows the 11th edition of Nice Classification. While the trademark law in Tuvalu does not govern the registration of service marks, the Registrar will register the services if they are covered in the corresponding UK-based trademark registration, although they are not necessarily enforceable. Multi-class applications are possible in the nation. 

  • The third parties can't file opposition actions against a trademark application.

  • Trademark protection begins from the date of registration of the corresponding UK trademark. Trademark registration is valid for the duration of the corresponding UK registration concerning the goods or services for which the mark is registered in Tuvalu.

  • The grace period to renew a trademark after the date of expiry is three (03) months. 

  • The period for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is not applicable in Tuvalu. 

  • Tuvalu is neither a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property nor a contracting party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

  • The owner of a patent granted in the UK or a European patent designating the United Kingdom can apply for registration of the patent in Tuvalu within three (03) years of the date of grant of the UK-based or European patent.

  • Registration of a UK-based industrial design extends to Tuvalu.

  • Tuvalu is a member of the Berne Convention and the WIPO Copyright Treaty. 

  • The Copyright Act (Chapter 40.24, Revised Edition 2008) - is the basic legislation governing copyright protection in Tuvalu.

  • 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.

  • Where the first publication of a literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work, other than a photograph, is anonymous or pseudonymous, copyright subsists for fifty (50) years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was first published.