Due to a number of requests from my LinkedIn contacts, I thought it best to outline the general requirements for filing trade marks in Papua New Guinea.
The Papua New Guinea Trade Marks Act Chapter 385 governs the filing of trade marks in Papua New Guinea.
Applications for filing of a trade mark for registration is made on the prescribed form (Form 4) to the Registrar of Trade Marks.
The following details are required to enable that form to be completed:
1. Applicant
Full name and address, and, if a company, State or country of incorporation.
2. Statement of use
An application may be lodged on any of the following bases:
a) Present use by the applicant
b) Proposed use by the applicant
c) Present use by a registered user
d) Proposed use by a registered user
In the event an application is based on either present or proposed use by a registered user, full details of that user must be provided. The application for registration of that user must be lodged within a period of three months from the date of lodgement of the trade mark application.
A certified copy of the registered user agreement, or a statutory declaration attesting to the terms of that agreement, must be lodged together with the registered user application.
3. Representation
The application must be accompanied by eight representations of the mark, 80mm x 60mm in size (unless the trade mark is a plain word mark).
4. Goods/Services
A separate application is required for each class. Please note that at the date of this article, Papua New Guinea does not accept multi-class applications.
The Papua New Guinea Trade Marks Act, Chapter 385 has adopted the International Classification System.
5. Fees
At the date of this article, the official filing fee for one application is PGK250. Where the representation of a trade mark exceeds 80mm x60mm in size, a larger representation fee of K40 is also payable.
A registration fee of PGK350 (and association fee of PGK50 where applicable) is payable upon registration.
6. Length of Time to Registration
At present, applications are expected to be examined within a month of the date of lodgement. The period to registration can be expected to take from 9 months up to two years (or more).
Under the provisions of the Act, on the registration of a trade mark, the date of lodgement of the application for registration shall be deemed to be the date of registration of that trade mark. Registration is for a period of ten years and is renewable every ten years.
7. Power of Attorney
We do not require a Power of Attorney. Section 39 of the Papua New Guinea Trade Marks Regulations allows a lawyer to execute, on behalf of the applicant, any document to be lodged with the Registrar of Trade Marks.
Only upon request a Power of Attorney can be sent to you for execution.
If you require more information, please do not hesitate to inbox me via LinkedIn or email m[email protected].
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