The Law on the Amendments to the Trademark Law of Montenegro (“the Law”) came into effect, introducing numerous novelties. First and foremost, the amendments were aligned with the European Union directive 2015/2436 of the European Parliament, and the rules of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market whose application in full sense is to start upon Montenegro’s accession into the European Union.
One of the most important novelties is the introduction of the new electronic trademark register of the Directorate for Intellectual Property of Montenegro (“Directorate“) which is expected to facilitate the communication with the Directorate to a greater extent, with the relevant information regarding trademark application and registered trademarks becoming available to all interested parties in just one click. The electronic filing of submissions before the Directorate is also expected to commence over the course of the year.
An additional novelty is the acceleration of the registration procedure. Namely, instead of the prior 60 days, through its course of application inspection the Directorate will leave the applicant only half the time for the elimination of any defects. Still, the Law provides for an extension of the time for eliminating defects for an addition 30 days at the request of the trademark applicant, for just cause.
The Law also brings a novelty of the trademark cancellation procedure from now on being conducted before the Directorate and not before the courts as was the prior case. The Law, also, makes a clear distinction between absolute and relative reasons for trademark cancellation and prescribes that the trademark cancellation procedure can be initiated by the competent authority ex officio, but also by the interested parties. A further novelty is that the previous trademark holder who knowingly allowed the use thereof to the subsequent trademark acquirer in trade during a 5-year period loses the right to trademark cancellation application if it has been proven that the subsequent trademark applicant has acted in good faith.
Should you be interested in discovering more about the novelties provided by the Law, feel free to contact us at office@mirkovlaw.com.