A trademark is a sign that is used to
distinguish the goods and services offered by one undertaking from those of
another. The trademark must be able to distinguish goods and services and
should not be misleading.
A trademark may consist of any word,
symbol, design, slogan, logo, colour, label, name, signature, letter, numeral
or any combination of them and should be capable of being represented
graphically. A trademark protects goods whereas service mark protects services
of the registered user.
Trademark registration in Uganda is
governed by the Trademarks Act, 2010. The Act provides for among other things;
the registration of trademarks, the procedure for and duration of registration,
the effect of trademark registration and action for infringement of a
trademark, the fees for legal proceedings and appeals and trademark
related offences.
Rights associated with trademark
registration in Uganda
- Exclusive
use of the trademark for goods and services or both upon registration.
- Right
to stop other people from using the trademark without the permission of
the owner.
- Trademark
provides legal protection from imitators trying to profit from the
business identity of a registered user of the trademark.
- Trademark
is a valuable intellectual property business asset that can be sold or
licensed, assigned or transmitted.
- The
registered user of trademark may commence legal proceedings for trademark
infringement to prevent unauthorized use of the trademark.
Duration of the term of registered
trademark
The duration of trademark upon
registration is for a period of seven years and upon expiry is renewed every
ten years.
