- African
2. Official language: English;
3. The emergence of trademark rights is based on the principle of prior use;
4. The trademarks that can be applied for registration include: commodity trademarks, series trademarks, joint trademarks, defensive trademarks, and certification trademarks;
5. Trademarks can only be applied for registration on specific goods or categories of goods, and their classification method is the same as the Nice Agreement on the International Classification of Goods and Services. Trademark applications follow the principle of one application for one category.
Malawi is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Nice Agreement, and the World Intellectual Property Organization, and is not a member of Madrid. Therefore, Malawi cannot be designated for international trademark registration in Madrid;
Therefore, registering trademarks in Malawi can only be done through two methods: "single country registration" or "African Industrial Property Organization".
The trademark exclusive right is valid for 7 years from the date of application, and the validity period for each renewal registration is 14 years. It can be processed 6 months in advance; The expansion period is one month.
1. Applicant's name and address;
2. The categories and names of goods/services that require protection;
3. Trademark design;
4. Signing of power of attorney/certification of business license.
The legality review of the submitted application documents, trademark designs, power of attorney and other documents after the application is submitted; Those who meet the requirements will be granted the application date and application number;
According to the law, review whether the trademark has registrability, whether it is the same or similar to a previously registered trademark, and whether it violates the prohibition clause of the Trademark Law. For trademarks that fail substantive examination, the examiner will notify the applicant in writing and inform them of the reasons for rejection. The applicant may submit a re examination within the time limit from the date of receiving the rejection notice. Otherwise, the application will be deemed abandoned, and the application date and number will not be retained. The applicant can apply for an extension upon payment of the extension fee;
After the trademark is reviewed, the applicant will be informed that the trademark application has been accepted and published in the trademark announcement. Anyone can raise objections within the 3-month announcement period, stating reasons and submitting relevant evidence;
Trademarks that have been ruled to be eligible for registration after opposition, or trademarks that have been published without opposition, will be granted registration and a registration certificate will be issued. The entire smooth application process (if there are no rejections, objections, etc.) will take approximately 12-15 months.
