Trademark registration in Zambia. Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa. Zambia contains abundant natural resources, including minerals, wildlife, forestry, freshwater and arable land. In 2010, the World Bank named Zambia one of the world’s fastest economically reformed countries. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is headquartered in Lusaka. 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 Zambia.
Trademark in Zambia
In Zambia, a trademark doesn’t need to be in use in order for it to register.
In Zambia, there are no specific provisions on the types of designations or identifiers that may serve as trademarks.
Accordingly, a device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name, signature, word, letter, numeral or any combination thereof will suffice as a designation or identifier under the Trademarks Act.
Although it is not compulsory for trademark to be registered in Zimbabwe in order to establish rights, the registration is still recommended as it will provide further protection for the trademark.
Another reason for why the applicant should register their trademark is that without it, in practice, protecting one’s rights may prove to be difficult as there are no firm claims for the mark.
Necessary documents for trademark registration in Zambia
Necessary documents for trademark registration in Zambia include:
- The application for trademark registration;
- Detailed information of the applicant (name, nationality, address, etc.);
- Detailed information of the representative or attorney (name, nationality, address, etc.);
- Classification of goods and/or services;
- Trademark sample;
- Priority documents (If any);
- The prescribed fee;
- Other necessary documents.
The procedure of trademark registration in Zambia
To obtain trademark protection in Zambia, the applicant needs to file their trademark application to the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA).
If there are no errors in the application, it will be published publicly in the Industrial Property Journal.
Opposition procedure
Within 2 months from the publication dates, all related parties may file a notice of opposition with PACRA to oppose the registration of the mark.
The notice is accompanied by a statement of the grounds of opposition.
The registrar will then serve the notice on the applicant. After receiving the notice, the applicant needs to file a counter-statement within 2 months of receipt of the opposition.
The parties must then file evidence in the form of affidavits or solemn declarations. The registrar will set a date to hear the arguments of both parties.
After this hearing, the registrar will determine whether the application is registrable or not. If the aggrieved party is dissatisfied with the registrar’s decision, they may appeal that decision to the High Court.
Trademark validity period in Zambia
Once registered, a trademark in Zambia will have a protection period of 7 years from the filing date.
Once the expiration date is due, the trademark owner may file for renewal of the trademark to extend the protection period for further periods of 14 years.
The trademark renewal can be requested as early as 6 months before the expiration date or 1 month after the publication of the expiration in the trademarks journal, upon payment of a late renewal fee.
Notes for trademark registration in Zambia
Zambia is a member state to the Madrid Protocol. Accordingly, the applicant can also file their trademark application through the Madrid System to obtain trademark protection in Zambia, as well as any other countries in the Madrid System.
You can see a list of Zambia IP firms here.