- African
1. Sierra Leone is located in West Africa and is a landlocked country that is a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union. As a former British colony, Sierra Leone's trademark registration system inherited the British intellectual property legal system and formulated the Sierra Leone Trademark Act. According to the Trademark Law, any trademark that is registered and recognized (including transfer and distribution) in the UK shall have legal effect at any time, and any part or all of the trademark used for registration shall have legal effect in Serbia.
2. The laws protecting trademarks in Sierra Leone include Law No. 17 of 1913, Law No. 9 of 1923, Law No. 26 of 1929, and Law No. 10 of 1940.
3. The Registration Authority of the Ministry of Justice of Sierra Leone is responsible for various registration and certification management affairs, including trademarks, in Sierra Leone. The director and chief registrar of the bureau. The official language is English.
4. The emergence of trademark rights is based on the principle of prior use.
5. Trademark registration follows the principle of one application for one category. The trademarks that can be applied for registration include: commodity trademarks, series trademarks, joint trademarks, and certification trademarks. The trademark registration in Sierra Leone categorizes businesses into 50 classes, with a classification method similar to the previous classification method in the UK.
Sierra Leone is a party to international intellectual property treaties such as the Paris Convention and the WIPO Convention, and is a member of the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol. Therefore, trademark registration in Sierra Leone can be obtained through "single country registration" or by designating Sierra Leone through Madrid International Registration.
The Sierra Leone trademark is valid for 14 years after registration, and can be renewed within 6 months before the expiration date. The renewal period is 14 years.
1. The applicant's Chinese and English names and addresses; For applications made in the name of a legal entity, one copy of the business license or valid registration certificate stamped with the official seal shall be attached; If applying in the name of a natural person, one copy of personal identification document shall be attached;
2. The categories and names of goods/services that require protection;
3. Trademark design;
4. Power of attorney.
After the application for trademark registration in Sierra Leone is submitted, the Sierra Leone Trademark Office conducts a legality review of the submitted application documents, trademark designs, power of attorney, and other documents; For those who meet the requirements, the application date and application number will be granted.
The Sierra Leone Trademark Office examines whether the application has registrability and whether it violates the prohibition clauses of the Trademark Law. For Sierra Leone trademark registration applications that have not passed substantive examination, the examiner will notify the applicant in writing and inform them of the reasons for rejection. The applicant shall submit a re examination after receiving the rejection notice, otherwise the application will be deemed abandoned, and the application date and application number will not be retained.
After the trademark registration in Sierra Leone is reviewed, the application will be published in the trademark announcement. Anyone can raise objections, state reasons, and submit relevant evidence within the 3-month announcement period.
The Sierra Leone trademark registration application that has been ruled to be eligible for registration after opposition, or that has been published without opposition, will be approved for registration and a Sierra Leone trademark registration certificate will be issued.
