On April 14, the regular consultation session on intellectual property for exporters ends
The question of a Belarusian manufacturer of radiators and heating equipment, who wishes to urgently register a trademark in the country of origin of the goods (Belarus) and the countries of export (Russia, Kazakhstan), concerned the possibility of registering a letter trademark consisting of two Latin consonant letters.
Answer: The presented designation of two consonant letters does not have a verbal character and therefore risks being qualified as a designation that does not have a distinctive ability by the examination of the patent office. This norm is prescribed in the Belarusian, Russian and Kazakh legislation on trademarks. This, in turn, may deprive the designation of the chances of being registered as a trademark.
To exclude such a situation, the applicant was recommended to submit for registration a designation in the corporate colors of the applicant's company (red and blue), and to work on the letters themselves, giving them a characteristic font style.
Recommendations:
1. In connection with the possible expansion of the applicant's business to the level of a branded store for the sale of heating equipment, the applicant was recommended to apply for a trademark not only for goods of the class 11 of the Nice Agreement, but also for services of the class 35 of the Nice Agreement for the sale of heating and related equipment.
2. After passing the accelerated preliminary examination, which is possible in the Republic of Belarus, to submit an international trademark application to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization, indicating the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan as the countries of registration and requesting convention priority by the date of filing the application in the Republic of Belarus.
For reference: The Convention priority is provided by the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. The filing date of the national application in the Paris Convention member country, on the basis of which the international application for international trademark registration is filed, will be recognized as the priority date of the international application, provided that the international application is filed within 6 months from the date of filing of the national application.
The recommendations were received with gratitude by the applicant.
