Application:
The following information
and documents are required:
- Full particulars of the applicant
- Power of attorney (simply signed),
to be submitted with the application
- List of the goods or services for
which registration is sought
- The trademark, with a print of the
mark if it is not a standard word mark.
Examination/procedure:
An application is examined
as to formal and substantive requirements. If the application is accepted
either with or without conditions, the application is published in the Gazette.
If no opposition is filed within a period of 60 days, the registration
certificate will be issued.
Opposition:
The Act makes provision for
opposition within 60 days from publication of the acceptance. The opposition
must be made in writing in the prescribed manner, and set out the grounds of
opposition.
The copy of the opposition
must be sent to the applicant, who must respond by lodging a counter-statement
in the prescribed manner, setting out the grounds on which he relies for his
application. If he does not send a counter-statement, he will be deemed to have
abandoned his application. The Rules make provision for further evidence to be
lodged.
After all evidence has been
lodged, the Registrar will hear argument from both parties and thereafter make
a decision as to whether registration will be permitted. Any party may appeal
to the court against this decision.
Duration and renewal:
A trade mark registration
is effective for an initial period of seven years from the filing date of the
application, and is thereafter renewable for consecutive periods of 10 years.
Renewal must take place within the three months before, or within one month
after, expiry of the preceding term. If the renewal fee is not paid within a
month after expiry, the mark will be removed from the register. It may,
however, be restored upon application in the prescribed form and upon payment
of a renewal and restoration fee.
Use requirement and
cancellation:
A registered trade mark is
vulnerable to cancellation if it has not been used for a continuous period of
three years.
Rights conferred by
registration:
The registration of a trade
mark in Part A of the register gives the owner the exclusive right to the use
of the trade mark in relation to the relevant goods or services. The owner also
gets the right to institute court proceedings against any person who infringes
this exclusive right.
The registration of a trade
mark in Part B of the register gives the owner similar exclusive rights, except
that the owner will not be entitled to an injunction (interdict) in certain
circumstances.
