The easiest way to register a trademark without interruption

We know, the human is a victim of ignorance. They have a lack of knowledge to get their intellectual rights. If someone knows his right but he doesn’t know how to get it. even some persons recognize their rights but they don’t try to get them. After all, why human do not meet the legal requirements, and why they do not live according to law? Compliance with the law is beneficial for humans. Here we are talking about how to protect intellectual property rights or protect their trademark and service mark or sign of business.

A sign, name, symbol, design, device, logo, and identification of businesses or services is called trademark/service mark. which is used or intended to be used to identify and distinguish to indicate the source of the goods/ services.

The first trademark law in Pakistan was passed in 1940 and was known as the 1940 Trademark Law. Thereafter, the Pakistani government decided to amend and consolidate the Law on Trademarks and Unfair Competition in order to meet its international obligations to register, better protect trademarks, and prevent infringement. Therefore, the Pakistani President passed the 2001 Trademark Ordinance. Trademark law in Pakistan is currently governed by the 2001 Trademark Ordinance and the 2004 Trademark Rules.

The Trademark Register, which is under the administrative control of the Pakistani Intellectual Property Organization, is the office responsible for registering trademarks in Pakistan. Trademark registration in Pakistan grants the right holder exclusive property rights to protect his trademark in Pakistan. However, since the Pakistani legal system is a general legal system, even an unregistered trademark is entitled to protection, and the rights holder of the unregistered trademark can take action against third parties under the “law of disclosure”.

Trademark law in Pakistan also protects geographical indications. Geographical indications are details that identify a product as originating from a region or a place, with a certain reputation for quality or another characteristic of the product being essentially due to its geographical origin. Most often, a geographical indication consists of the name of the place of origin of the goods. Agricultural products often have properties that result from their place of production and are influenced by certain local factors such as climate and soil.

WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE OF TRADEMARK REGISTRATION IN PAKISTAN?

Appoint attorney/legal Company specializing in IPR.

It is advisable to search in the Pakistani trademark register to determine if a potentially conflicting trademark application is pending or has been registered.

Based on the results of your registration clearance search and common law search, and after consulting your local attorney, decide whether your trademark is available for use. If the trademark is available for use, apply for registration immediately. You should also consider hiring a trademark journal monitoring service to alert you of published, deceptively similar trademarks that may affect you.

If you own a trademark that has been used and has earned goodwill and reputation, it is advisable that in addition to filing a trademark application in Pakistan. You also create press releases, post warnings, and promote the trademark to ensure the appropriate one. The public section is aware that you are entering the Pakistani market and protecting your brand from any kind of infringement of third-party intellectual property rights.

According to trademark law in Pakistan we may apply a trademark application proposed to be used or intended to use. If a trademark application file is being used Registrar may ask to file an affidavit from the applicant, which will be verified by the Notary Public.

If you find that your trademark is being infringed, you should immediately take steps to protect it, either by filing an objection to the registration, filing cancellations, investigating, sending cease and desist acts, or you may approach appropriate civil and criminal action.

Though Pakistan has passed laws protecting the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of rights holders, its enforcement and implementation of these laws remain a matter of grave concern for rights holders. It is therefore imperative that businesses develop a comprehensive strategy for protecting their IPR and take steps to safeguard their rights before they enter the Pakistani market.

Trademark registration is an important step that companies in Pakistan should take. Many foreign and domestic rights holders have successfully registered their trademarks in Pakistan.

WhICH TRADEMARKS CANNOT BE REGISTERED IN PAKISTAN:

The trademark is not capable of being represented graphically and are unable to distinguish goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings;

The trademark cannot be registered if it consists solely of trademarks or indications indicating the type, quality, quantity, intended use, value, geographical origin, time of manufacture of goods or provision of services or other characteristics of goods or services;

The trademark is not capable for registration if it consists exclusively of marks or indications which have become customary in the language or in the established practices of the trade;

The trademark cannot be registered if it consists exclusively of the shape resulting from the nature of the goods themselves, the shape of the goods that is necessary to achieve a technical result, or the shape that gives the goods significant value confers.

The trademark cannot be registered if it contains any scandals, designs or matters the use of which would be prohibited in order to protect against the High Courts or District Courts as it could be misleading or confusing and could offend or offend the religious sensitivities of a class of Pakistani people Citizens break the law or morality;

The trademark is not capable for registration if the application for registration has been made in bad faith;

The trademark cannot be registered if it is a commonly used and accepted name of a single chemical element or compound in relation to a chemical substance or preparation, or which is declared by the World Health Organization and reported in the prescribed manner by From time to time by the registrar as an international, unprotected name or that is deceptively similar to this name;

The trademark is not capable for registration if it has a generic term;

The trademark is not capable for registration if consists of or contains the armorial bearings or any other State emblem of a Convention country;

The mark cannot be registered if it contains an official mark or trademark adopted from a treaty country. It may not be registered with respect to goods or services of the same or similar nature as those with respect to which it indicates control and guarantee.

The trademark is not capable of registration if contains such emblem, abbreviations, or name of an International Organization.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO REGISTER A TRADEMARK?

It usually takes about 1½ to 2 hours to register a trademark in Pakistan unless the trademark is rejected by a third party. The trademark register is the appropriate place for filing a trademark application in Pakistan. Trademark applications can be filed at either the Karachi office or the trademark register branch in Lahore & Islamabad. The different steps of the registration process in Pakistan are as follows:

DO YOU NEED A LAWYER TO APPLY FOR TRADEMARK REGISTRATION IN PAKISTAN?

The trademark law in Pakistan allows the owner to file a trademark application only if he has a place of business in Pakistan. If this is not the case, the rights holder must submit an application through a trademark agent/lawyer. The trademark agent/attorney can conduct trademark searches and prepare, submit, and prosecute applications.

TO ASCERTAIN IF THE MARK IS ELIGIBLE AND AVAILABLE FOR REGISTRATION:

The trademark agent ascertains whether the trademark is eligible for registration and also conducts clearance searches to determine whether a deceptively similar trademark already exists in the trademark register. It is wise to do a common law search to see if anyone else may already be using the trademark.

IS POWER OF ATTORNEY REQUIRED FOR TRADEMARK REGISTRATION?

The trademark agent can fill out and sign the registration form, provided that the rights holder has issued a signed power of attorney appointing him as trademark agent.

The details that must be given in the trademark application are the full name and address of the applicant, a declaration of the goods or services for which registration of the trademark is requested, the international classification of goods or services, a representation of the trademark and the full name, address, and contact details of the representative in the event that the request is made.

The application should also state whether the mark is being used by the applicant or with his consent in relation to goods or services, or whether he has a good faith intention to use it. Copies of all forms are available in Pakistan.

As a signatory to the Paris Agreement, foreign priority is recognized. An applicant may claim priority from an application filed in another signatory country provided the application is filed in Pakistan within six months of the submission of that application.

FOLLOW UP THE MATTER IN THE TRADE MARKS REGISTRY:

After the application is filed, the trademark register will review it to ensure that it is complete in all respects and then assign an application number to the applications. When the trademark is registered, the application number becomes the registration number.

Preliminary Approval and Publication, Show Cause Hearing or Rejection of the Application.

In the examination process, the Examiner of Trademark determines what is trademark registration is excluded for absolute reasons of refusal and/or for relative reasons (previous trademark rights) according to the trademark regulation of 2001.

The Examiner of Trademark will issue an examination report and the applicant must respond to any objections raised in the examination report within the prescribed time limit.

The Examiner of Trade Marks then determines, on the basis of the response to the examination report submitted by the applicant, whether the application should be rejected, accepted for advertising, accepted with certain restrictions, or scheduled for a hearing on the subject of “reason for the exhibition” during which the application should be submitted under certain restrictions can be accepted, rejected or accepted.

WHAT IS TRADEMARK NOTICE OF PUBLICATION?

Notice of Publication in a trademark application is a good thing. It means that your trademark application has received preliminary approval by the Trade Marks Registry of Pakistan.

After advertisement of the trademark in the Trade Marks Journal Registry wait three months to inviting opposition by the third party to oppose the trademark for registration. The trademark does not oppose by a third party. Thereafter a Demand Note issued to the Applicant requesting him to pay the requisite registration fee. After the paid prescribed fee in the prescribed manner registration certificate issue.