On October 9, 2025, another session of the intellectual property consultation center for exporters was completed.
The head of a company whose trade name begins with the letter “M” approached the consultation center. The company intends to register the letter “M” as a trademark, as it is the first letter not only of the company’s trade name, but also of the founder’s surname and the name of the product manufactured by the company—marble and granite memorial monuments. The entrepreneur manufactures and sells these products within the country and plans to export finished goods to the Russian Federation.
The question raised by the company’s head and owner concerned the fastest way to register this designation in the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation.
As usual, the consultant’s response was based on the provisions of Belarusian trademark law, in particular the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Trademarks and Service Marks” (hereinafter referred to as the Law) and the enforcement practice of the National Center of Intellectual Property (NCIP).
According to paragraph 1 of Article 3 of the Law, the following signs may not be registered as trademarks:
1.1. signs lacking distinctiveness;
1.2. signs that have become commonly used as designations of goods of a certain type;
1.3. signs that are generally accepted symbols and terms;
1.4. signs in which the dominant position is occupied by elements and/or indications used to designate the type, quality, quantity, properties, purpose, value of goods, as well as the time, place, and method of their production or sale;
1.5. signs representing the shape of goods or their packaging, determined exclusively or mainly by the nature of the goods, the necessity of achieving a technical result, or the substantial value of the goods.
The letter “M,” presented in a standard typeface, lacks distinctiveness and does not fulfill the primary function of a trademark—to distinguish the goods and services of one entity from those of others.
The consultant’s recommendation was based on paragraph 3 of Article 4 of the Law:
“3. The provisions set out in paragraph 1 of this Article may not apply to signs which, as of the filing date of the trademark application, have in fact acquired distinctiveness through use.”
However, it is impossible for the letter “M” to acquire distinctiveness unless it is presented in a distinctive graphical form.
Many versions of the letter “M,” created in original designs, have obtained trademark protection in the Republic of Belarus.
Therefore, the company “M” was advised to develop an original graphical representation of the letter “M” that would give it distinctive character.
As for the fastest registration of the proposed designation, the Republic of Belarus provides procedures for accelerated preliminary and substantive examination of a trademark application, as well as expedited registration and issuance of a trademark certificate. The applicant was provided with the NCIP’s contact details and information on how to request such expedited procedures within the services offered by the patent office.
