On April 9, 2026, the fifth session of the intellectual property advisory service for exporters concluded it’s work.
The Belarusian owner (an individual) of the national Belarusian word trademark "ТуЦТуЦ QUIZ" presented in three levels and registered for services in Class 41 of the Nice Classification (production of television and radio programs; writing of television and film scripts; organization of competitions [education or entertainment]; arranging and conducting of colloquiums; arranging and conducting of congresses; arranging and conducting of conferences; arranging and conducting of concerts; arranging and conducting of workshops [training]; arranging and conducting of in-person educational forums; arranging and conducting of seminars; arranging and conducting of symposiums; organization of competitions [educational or entertainment]; video editing services for events; sound engineering services for events…), application filing date 04.02.2022, registration date 11.11.2022, submitted his inquiry to the consultation service regarding the potential for conflict between the mark in question and the international trademark "ТуЦ ТуЦ QUIZ", which is confusingly similar and was filed for registration by a Russian legal entity in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine covering goods in Class 09, similar services in Class 41, and dissimilar services in Class 42 of the Nice Classification, based on a Russian priority application dated January 20, 2022.
Before answering the question, the consultant checked the international trademark database and established the following. Despite the fact that a Russian legal entity had previously filed an application in the Russian Federation, which served as the basis for the international trademark application, the filing and registration dates for the international application are listed as March 28, 2022. This means the priority date for the international trademark is established as March 28, 2022. Consequently, the filing date (February 4, 2022) for the national Belarusian trademark "TuTs TuTs QUIZ" predates the filing date (March 28, 2022) for the international trademark application designating the Republic of Belarus.
The consultant’s response was based on the provisions of the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On Trademarks and Service Marks" (hereinafter referred to as the "Law"). In accordance with Subparagraph 1.1 of Paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the Law, "designations that are identical or confusingly similar to trademarks registered or applied for registration in the Republic Belarus in the name of another person and having an earlier priority date in respect of similar goods cannot be registered as trademarks." Indeed, this provision of the Law served as the basis for refusing the registration of an international trademark in the Republic of Belarus regarding similar services in Class 41. The refusal decision issued by the National Center of Intellectual Property’s examination division made direct reference to Provision 5.1.1 of the Law. The provisional refusal dated May 19, 2023, was upheld by a final examination decision dated December 8, 2023, under which legal protection for the international trademark "ТуЦ ТуЦ QUIZ" was granted within our territory only for goods in Class 09 and services in Class 42 of the Nice Classification.
Thus, there is no possibility of a conflict between the national Belarusian trademark owned by a Belarusian rights holder and the internationally registered trademark "ТуЦ ТуЦ QUIZ" (owned by a Russian rights holder) which is confusingly similar in respect of Class 41 services.
Nor does such similarity exist with respect to Class 42 services for which the international trademark is registered, since services in this class such as industrial design, graphic design, computer virus protection services, web server rental, rental of computer hardware and software, and software development and maintenance are dissimilar to the Class 41 production of television and radio programs; writing of television and film scripts; organization of competitions [education or entertainment]; arranging and conducting of colloquiums; arranging and conducting of congresses; arranging and conducting of conferences …”, in respect of which the national Belarusian trademark “TuTs TuTs QUIZ” is registered.
