Trademark Application
An application for a trademark registration in Kazakhstan is made to the Patent Office. The laws of Kazakhstan allow a multi-class application.
The steps in the registration procedure involve:
- Filing a trademark application;
- Preliminary examination;
- Full examination for registrability;
- Issuance of a registration certificate and publication of information regarding the trademark registration.
The following are the information and documents required for filing a trademark application:
- Name, country of incorporation, and address of applicant;
- Drawing of the trademark (20 copies, size 8x8 cm);
- List of goods and/or services, and designation of trademark class, or classes, if known, under the International Classification System;
- Power of Attorney (POA) signed by the applicant and stamped with its seal, if any. In the absence of the seal, a POA has to be apostilled or legalized, as the case may be. The POA may be submitted to the Patent Office within two months from the application filing date;
- in case of claiming the convention priority, a copy of the priority application, certified by the Patent Office. No notarization or legalization is required (this document may be submitted to the Patent Office within two (2) months from the application filing date).
The above list is not exhaustive and additional documents may be requested.
The preliminary examination continues one (1) month from the application filing date. At this stage the Patent Office reviews the content of the application and determines whether all of the statutorily required documents have been submitted.
The full examination is carried out within nine (9) months from the application filing date. In the course of full examination, a mark in question is examined for its (i) identity and confusingly similarity with existing trademarks; and (ii) distinctiveness. Based upon the results of full examination, the Patent Office, within 15 business days, adopts a decision on registration or non-registration of the trademark in question. If the results of full examination are positive, the applicant, within 3 months from the date of receipt of notification regarding the positive results of full examination, must pay the established common fee for the issuance of a trademark registration certificate and publication of information regarding the registration. Following payment of such fee, the relevant trademark is recorded in the State Register of Trademarks and the above information is published in the official bulletin.
If the Patent Officers examiners consider a mark in question as not distinctive, or confusingly similar to any previously registered or pending trademark, the Patent Office issues a provisional refusal to register the mark. There are procedures in place that enable an applicant, within 3 months from the refusal’s date, to respond to such refusal and attempt to work out a solution to the condition that gave rise to the refusal. Failing this, an applicant may appeal to the Board of Appeals.
A trademark registration certificate is granted for 10 years from the application filing date. Upon expiry, this term may be extended for the next 10 years, based upon a request of the relevant trademark’s owner request. Such request must be submitted to the Patent Office within 12 months preceding the expiration date of the relevant certificate.
Trademark Use
As a matter of law, the owner of a trademark is obliged to use the trademark. The non-use of a trademark within 3 (three) consecutive years after the registration date may serve as a ground for an interested party’s request to cancel such trademark’s registration.
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