- Australia
1. The Republic of Kiribati is located in the central western Pacific Ocean and consists of 33 islands. It is not only the only country in the world that crosses the equator and the International Date Line, but also the only country in the world that crosses the North South Latitude and East West Longitude. In recent years, the government has continuously expanded its sources of foreign exchange income, made efforts to achieve economic diversification, encouraged the development of small private enterprises, fisheries, small-scale processing and manufacturing industries, and coconut cultivation, resulting in the development of the commodity economy.
2. The current trademark regulations in the Republic of Kiribati are mainly based on the Registration Clause of the UK Trademark Law, which was promulgated on August 22, 1939. The Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Tourism of the Republic of Kiribati is responsible for the unified management of trademark affairs, and the official language is English.
3. According to the Kiribati Trademark Law, the principle of prior use is adopted, while also taking into account the principle of prior registration.
4. Local authorities accept registration applications for commodity trademarks, service trademarks, series trademarks, and joint trademarks.
Due to the fact that the Republic of Kiribati was once a British colony and declared independence in 1979, it currently does not have its own trademark system or trademark law. Trademark protection on the island can only be applied for based on existing UK single country registration.
The validity period of Kiribati Trademark Law is 10 years, and relevant renewals can be applied for within 1 year before expiration. The validity period after renewal is also 10 years.
1. Trademark design;
2. The specific category and product items must have the same registration basis as in the UK;
3. The applicant's name and address must be the same as the registration basis in the UK;
4. Power of attorney;
5. Original registration certificate issued by the UK Intellectual Property Office;
6. Cannot declare priority.
The main process for applying for registration of a trademark in the Republic of Kiribati based on the existing UK local foundation is as follows:
Application acceptance formal examination approval issuance.
The application will be accepted within 2-3 weeks after submission. The examiner will conduct a formal examination of the application, mainly examining whether the application requirements and classification information comply with regulations.
There is no substantive examination and announcement system.
If everything goes smoothly, it currently takes about one year to apply for registration based on the existing UK single country registration foundation.
It should be noted that:
① The validity period of the trademark registration in the Republic of Kiribati is the same as that of the basic registration in the United Kingdom. After the renewal of the basic registration in the United Kingdom is completed, the right holder should notify the registrant of the Republic of Kiribati as soon as possible to renew the trademark registration in the Republic of Kiribati. If the renewal is not requested within the deadline, the trademark will be invalid. The renewal period is also the same as the basic registration in the UK.
② There is currently no system of "non use revocation" or "invalidation declaration" in the country. In case of trademark infringement, the rights holder may appeal to the local court based on the current UK trademark law.
③ Kiribati trademark registration, transfer, change, and renewal must provide proof of transfer, change, and renewal of the UK single country basic registration. If the basic registration in the UK is invalidated due to revocation or non renewal, the registration in the Republic of Kiribati will also be invalidated.
