Timor Leste (also known as East Timor) – officially known as the Democratic Republic of East Timor is an island nation in Southeast Asia. This island is famous for a large number of international and domestic tourists. The number of citizens of this island nation is about one and a half million. With this population of indigenous people, this country can make a huge profit from selling goods or providing services. Therefore, the trademark registration in Timor Leste (East Timor) is very essential to protect the enterprises’ rights.
The advantage of trademark registration in Timor Leste
- Due to its small population, East Timor does not have many entrepreneurs. This reduces competition and simplifies the process of creating a unique logo/brand/trademark.
- Natural entities and corporate customers can register trademarks in East Timor. Trademark review time will not exceed one year due to a short queue.
- The official currency of the country is the US dollar. This currency will simplify financial transactions and avoid currency conversion fees.
The jurisdiction of the Madrid Agreement does not apply to this island nation. Therefore, only domestic trademark applications can be registered in East Timor. Furthermore, East Timor is not one of the republics that have signed the Paris Convention, therefore all new trademark rights will be exclusively governed by local laws. The trademark application will be filed with the local intellectual property protection committee.
Inspection procedures include the verification of the uniqueness of trademarks. Trademark logos may not be identical to those of trademarks registered in the territory of that country.
Forbidden elements in the trademark application
- It is forbidden to use names or quotes of famous people without their written consent.
- The details on the logo should not offend any group of people.
- Unethical fractions are strictly prohibited, i.e. elements rejected by a large number of the world’s population.
- Calls for illegal activities (represented by images on the trademark) will also result in denial of the application.
If the customer plans to expand its business to other countries, it is necessary to take into account the rules for the trademark registration not only of East Timor but also of other countries in that the business plans to establish its branches.