Online Trademark Filing Zimbabwe : Africa Regional Intellectual Property Organisation ARIPO

Organization : Africa Regional Intellectual Property Organisation
Type of Facility : Online Trademark Filing
Country: Zimbabwe

Website : http://www.aripo.org/index.php/services/trademarks
Online Filing : http://eservice.aripo.org/pmi/PMIMain.do

Online Trademark Filing :

Trademark:
A Trademark constitute any sign that individualizes the goods of a given enterprise and capable of distinguishing such goods from the goods of competitors.

Related : Africa Regional Intellectual Property Organisation Patent Application Online Filing Zimbabwe : www.statusin.org/9355.html

Thus a trade marks should:
(i) Individualize a product by indication of source to the satisfaction of the consumer, and

(ii) Clearly distinguish the goods of one enterprise from those of other enterprises.

A Device Mark is a sign used to distinguish between the different services such as security companies, insurance brokers, employment agents, cleaning companies, funeral undertakers, etc. The provisions of Service Marks apply Mutatis Mutandis to those of service marks on registration, renewal, cancellation, assignment and licensing, etc.

Collective and certification marks are marks used to indicate the affiliation of enterprises using the mark or which refer to identifiable standards met by a product with which a mark is used. A collective mark usually belongs to an organization or an association with its membership entitled to use such a mark while the association itself is entrusted with quality and standard control. The collective mark serves to inform the public particular features of the product used in connection with a given mark and could therefore be instrumental in the protection of consumers against misleading practices. The certification marks are used only in connection with defined standards. The difference between the certification mark and the collective mark is that the collective mark is used by a particular enterprise or members of the association while a certification mark may be used by anybody who meets the defined standards.

Trade names are generally names, terms or designations specifically designed to identify and distinguish enterprises and its business ventures from those of other enterprises.

Geographical indications are expressions signs indicating the origin of the product or service. The origin indicated under geographical indications will always refer to a country, region or specific place.

Geographic indications are commercial designations comprising:
(i) indications of source, and
(ii) appellations of origin.

Indication of source comprise denominations expressions or signs indicating origin of a service or product with reference to a country, region or a specific place (village, etc.).

An appellation of origin in addition to indications of a country, region or specific place will also include the characteristic of qualities attributed to geographic environment and other natural and human factors associated with a particular product and service.

Registration Procedure Part I:
The application for a mark must be filed either directly at the ARIPO Office in Harare, Zimbabwe or via the Industrial Property Office of a contracting state referred to as the Receiving Office. In both cases the filing date shall be the date of receipt of the application in that respective Office. The application may be filed by the applicant or his authorized representative. However, where the applicant’s principle place of residence of business is outside the Contracting State of filing, representation shall be mandatory.

The Office shall examine the application for compliance with formal requirements, and accord the appropriate filing date to the application. If the application does not meet the formal requirements, it shall notify the applicant accordingly, inviting him to comply with the requirements within a prescribed period. If the applicant does not comply with the requirements within the prescribed period, the application shall be treated as if it had not been filed. The only recourse available for an application refused is to request that the application be treated, in any designated State as an application according to the law of that State or lodge an appeal against the decision of the office to the Board of Appeal.

If the application complies with the formal requirements at the Receiving Office of a contracting state such a state shall without delay transmit the application to ARIPO. The ARIPO Office shall in all cases ensure that the prescribed formal requirements are complied with and shall so notify each designated State and further request that each designated State examine the application in accordance with its national laws and notify the ARIPO Office of its findings within a prescribed period. On expiration of the prescribed period the Office of ARIPO shall publish the Mark for registration in all those countries where a given mark is considered registrable.

During the pendence of registration or during the application phase later designations are allowed. Once registered each mark shall be treated as if its a mark registered in each such a state. However the indication of classes of goods or services provided shall not be used to determine the scope of protection and the law applicable for revocation, cancellation and opposition proceedings shall apply. The registered mark shall be renewable every ten years and on expiration of ten years there after.

Provisions Of The Protocol Part II:
Representation:
Representation shall be by a patent or trademark agent or by a legal practitioner who has a right to represent applicants before the Industrial Property Office of the Contracting State with which the application is filed. Where an applicant is represented, the power of attorney shall be filed together with the application or within two months from the date of filing. The power of attorney shall be made on Form M2.

Filing Requirements:
The application for registration of a mark shall contain a request for registration of mark indicating the name and address of the applicant including his nationality, his domicile and the address of the industrial or commercial establishment. If the applicant is a legal entity as the case may be he shall be required to indicate the nature of the legal entity including the country a territory under whose laws the legal entity is established.

The application should further contain a clear and complete list of the particular goods or services in respect of which registration of the mark is requested, with an indication of the corresponding class or classes in the international classification, as may be prescribed. Declaration of the actual use should be made.

Designation of contracting States and where a mark has been registered or is pending registration in any Contracting State, the owner or applicant or, where applicable, his successor in title shall have the right to designate any other State which subsequently becomes a party to the Protocol. The application for a later designation shall be made on Form M 3 and shall be subject to payment of the prescribed fee on filing or an undertaking to pay such fees within 21 days. Distinctive features such as colour and dimensions should be claimed or reproduced as the case may be.

Representation Of Mark:
The mark representation shall be affixed on Form M 1. Marks comprising letters, words, numerals or punctuation signs where no special graphic features are claimed, may be reproduced by typewriter in the appropriate space in the form. One copy of the representation of any other two-dimensional mark shall be affixed to the appropriate space in the form;

Where colour is claimed as a distinctive feature of a mark, the applicant shall be required to append to his application copies in colour of the said mark;

Three-dimensional marks shall contain an indication to that effect.

Where applicable, a transliteration of the mark or of certain parts of the mark, and/or a translation of the mark or of certain parts of the mark shall be required.

Right Of Priority:
An applicant for registration of a mark who wishes to avail himself of the priority of an earlier application filed in a Convention country shall, within six months of the date of such earlier application, append to his application a written declaration indicating the date and number of the earlier application, the name of the applicant and the country in which he or his predecessor in title filed such application and shall, within a period of two months from the date of filing furnish a copy of the earlier application certified as correct by the appropriate authority of the country with which such earlier application was filed.

Temporary Protection Of Mark Exhibited:
An applicant for registration of a mark who has exhibited goods bearing the mark or rendered services under the mark at an official or officially recognized international exhibition and who applies for registration of the mark within six months from the date on which the goods bearing the mark or services under the mark were first exhibited or rendered at such exhibition shall, on request, be deemed to have applied for registration of that mark on the date on which the goods bearing the mark or the services rendered under the mark were first exhibited or rendered at such exhibition.

Evidence of the exhibition of the goods bearing the mark or the services rendered under the mark shall be by a certificate issued by the competent authority of the exhibition stating the date on which the mark was first used at such exhibition in connection with such goods or services.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not extend to any other period of priority claimed by the applicant.

Classification:
The classification of goods and services for the purposes of indicating the list of goods and services shall be the Nice Agreement of 15th June 1957, as revised, concerning International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purpose of the Registration of Marks. Marks relating to figurative elements shall be classified under the Vienna Classification.

Alteration Of Registered Mark:
Requests for the recording of changes, such as territorial extension to one or more countries in respect of all or some of the goods and services, transfer, partial assignment for some of the goods and services or for some of the countries, cancellation of the international registration, renunciation in respect of some of the countries concerned, limitation of the list of goods and services, or changes in the name or address of the owner, shall be presented in a single copy, dated and signed by applicant or his representative on Form M 11.

The request for recording of a change shall in all cases indicate:
(i) the number of the mark concerned; and
(ii) the name and address of the owner of the registration.

Where the change of ownership results from a contract, a certified copy of the contract signed by both the holder and the new owner shall accompany the request for the change of ownership.

The request shall be accompanied by the prescribed fees or an undertaking to pay such fee.