Trademark registration in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan, also known as Turkmenia, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. The country possesses the world’s fourth-largest reserves of natural gas and substantial oil resources. Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its economy. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of trademark registration in Turkmenistan.
Necessary documents for trademark registration in Turkmenistan
Necessary documents for trademark registration in Turkmenistan include:
- The application for trademark registration in Turkmenistan;
- Detailed information of the applicant (name, nationality, and address, etc.);
- Detailed information of the representative or attorney (name, nationality, and address, etc.);
- Classification of goods and/or services;
- Trademark sample;
- Priority documents (If any);
- The prescribed fee;
- Other necessary documents.
The official languages of the proceedings before the Turkmen Trademark Office are Russian and Turkmen. Accordingly, the application should be filed in Russian and/or Turkmen.
The procedure of trademark registration in Turkmenistan
To obtain trademark protection in Turkmenistan, the applicant needs to file their trademark application to the Turkmenistan IP Office.
After receiving the application, the examiners at the IP Office will conduct a thorough examination including formal examination and substantive examination to check if the application complies with the regulations and the mark is registrable.
If there are no issues, the application will be published in the bulletin of Turkmen patent.
Unlike other countries, the application will not be opened for other parties to file their opposition after the publication.
Instead, opposition actions may be filed by interested third parties against the trademark registration at any time during the examination process.
The probabilities of success for an opposition will vary in each case depending on the circumstances.
Trademark renewal in Turkmenistan
If there are no problems in the examination process, the mark will be registered and the applicant will receive the trademark registration certificate, provided that the official fee for registration is paid within 3 months after issuance of the corresponding Notice of Allowance.
After registration, the trademark will have a protection period of 10 years from the filing date.
Every 10 years, the trademark owner must file for renewal of the trademark to extend the protection period for an additional 10 years.
In Turkmenistan, it is possible to apply for a renewal within 12 months before the deadline. There is also a 6-month grace period that allows the trademark owner to file for renewal if he/she forgets the deadline, upon payment of a stipulated fine.
Reinstatement of a lapsed trademark is not possible.
Notes on trademark registration in Turkmenistan
If the trademark registration process goes smoothly, it takes from 1,5-2 years to obtain trademark registration in Turkmenistan.
After registration, the trademark owner must use the trademark on a commercial scale for at least any continuous 3 years period to avoid cancellation actions filed by third parties based on non-use.
The trademark may be requested for cancellation by third parties based on the following grounds:
- Cancellation based on relative grounds may be filed to the Appeal Board within 5 years from registration;
- Cancellation based on absolute grounds may be filed to the Appeal Board within the entire period of validity of the trademark;
- Cancellation based on non-use may be filed to the Appeal Board. The grace period is 3 years from registration.
You can see a list of Turkmenistan IP firms here.