Bhutan

The Industrial Property Act of 2001 governs and deals with the mechanism of registration of trademarks in Bhutan.

A Trademark registered could be any name, color, logo, symbol or sound that uniquely identifies the source of the goods and services. In Bhutan, the Trademarks protected can be categorized as follows:

1. CONVENTIONAL TRADEMARKS including word mark, device mark and collective mark.

2. NON-CONVENTIONAL TRADEMARKS including color mark, slogan mark and shape mark.

3. WELL-KNOWN TRADEMARKS

In Bhutan, the 10th edition of Nice Classification is accepted by the Trademark office.

The examination report is usually issued within 6-12 months approximately.

Once the trademark is registered, it is valid for a period of 10 years from the date of registration.

The date of registration is considered as the effective date of registration for a Trademark.

The following information and documents are required to file the Trademark application in Bhutan: Power of attorney

In Bhutan, a signed power of attorney would suffice.

The POA must be submitted at the time of filing the Trademark application.

The time period to file a notice of opposition is 3 months from the date of publication of the Trademark in the official gazette.

Trademark protection is available for 10 years from the date of application, renewable every 10 years on payment of the required fee.

The documents required at the time of filing the renewal of Trademark application are as follows: Power of attorney

The documents required are as follows:

1. CHANGE OF NAME: Certified copy of extract from the Registrar of Companies with required translation Power of Attorney

2. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Certified copy of extract from the Registrar of Companies with required translation

3. ASSIGNMENT: Deed of Assignment

4. MERGER: Deed of Merger

5. LICENSE: License Agreement

The non-use cancellation period of a Trademark is for 3 years from the date of registration.

Trademark registration is a lengthy process and it takes around 6-9 months approximately to obtain registration.