Laws
This Law shall govern relations concerning the registration, legal protection and use of trademarks, service marks and appellations of origin.
Law on Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin (in force until July 1, 2010)
Chapter 8: Registration and Provision of the Right to Use an Appellation
Article 32. An Application for Registration and the Right to Use an Appellation(1) An application for registration and/or the right to use an appellation (hereinafter “an application”) shall be filed with the Authorized Body by legal persons and/or individual manufacturers (hereinafter “an applicant”), indicated in Article 31(3) of this Law.
(2) An application may be filed in accordance with the procedure established by Article 6(2) of this Law, in accordance with the requirements of paragraphs (3) to (5).
(3) An application shall relate to a single appellation and shall contain:
(a) a request for registration and/or provision of the right to use the appellation, containing details of the applicant and his place of business or residence;
(b) the claimed appellation;
(c) an indication of the good for which registration and/or provision of the right to use the appellation are requested, with an indication of the name of the place (geographical location) in which the good is produced;
(d) documents clearly identifying the borders of the geographical location, in relation to which the appellation is applied;
(e) a description of the particular features (basic physical, chemical, microbiological and/or organoleptic characteristics) of the good (where necessary—also of the raw material);
(f) where necessary—a description of the local original method by which the good is produced;
(g) details of special labeling connected with the appellation.
(4) The following shall be attached to the application:
(a) for applicants from the Republic of Armenia—a certificate from the local government authority stating that the applicant is in the geographical location in question and produces the good, the special features of which are defined by natural conditions and/or human factors characteristic of the geographical location in question (for the applicants indicated in Article 31(3)(a) of this Law);
(b) for foreign applicants—a document attesting to their right to use an appellation in the country in which the good originates;
(c) a receipt for payment of the prescribed fee for filing an application and conducting an examination;
(d) a document confirming the capacity of a patent attorney (power of attorney), if the application is filed through such an attorney.
(5) An application shall be filed in Armenian. The documents attached to the application may be filed in a different language. In this case, applicants from the Republic of Armenia shall be obliged to submit their translation into Armenian together with the application, and foreign applicants—within two months of the day on which the application is filed.
(6) The requirements for application documents shall be established by the Authorized Body.
Article 33. Examination of an Application
(1) An application shall be examined, including a preliminary examination and examination of the claimed appellation, by the Authorized Body.
(2) An applicant may, from the day on which the application is filed with the Authorized Body until a decision is taken on it, make amendments, clarifications and corrections to the application materials at his own initiative.
(3) If the additional materials change substantively the appellation filed for registration, these materials shall not be considered and may be established by the applicant as a separate application.
(4) During the examination, the Authorized Body may request from the applicant additional materials, without which the examination cannot be conducted. The additional materials shall be filed within two months of the day on which the request is received.
(5) At the applicant’s request, the period in question may be extended by not more than six months, if the request to extend the period has been received prior to the expiry of the aforementioned two-month period. Where the requested materials are not submitted within the prescribed period, the application shall be considered to have been withdrawn.
(6) The preliminary examination of the application shall be conducted within one month of the day on which the application is filed with the Authorized Body. Where the request is dispatched in accordance with paragraph (4) of this article, the period in question shall be interrupted until such time as a response is received.
(7) During the preliminary examination the content of the application shall be verified, along with the presence of the requisite documents, and also their compliance with the established requirements. On the basis of the results of the preliminary examination, the applicant shall be informed as to whether the application will be considered.
(8) According to the application considered, an examination of the claimed appellation shall be conducted, during which its compliance with the requirements of Article 30 of this Law shall be verified.
(9) Following the examination, the Authorized Body shall take a decision to register the appellation and to provide the right to use it, or to refuse to register the appellation and not to provide the right to use the previously registered appellation.
(10) Where the applicant does not agree with an examination decision, he may, within two months of the day on which he receives the decision, file a request for a re-examination to be carried out, and shall explain the relevant grounds.
(11) The period in question may, at the applicant’s request, be extended by not more than six months, if the request to extend the period has been received prior to expiry of the aforementioned two-month period.
(12) At the applicant’s request, an application may be withdrawn at any stage of the examination.
Article 34. Appeal Against an Examiner’s Decision and Renewal of Deadlines Missed by the Applicant
(1) Where he does not agree with any decision based on examination, an applicant may, within three months of the day on which he receives the decision, submit an appeal to the Board of Appeal. The Board of Appeal shall examine the appeal in accordance with the procedure approved by the Authorized Body.
(2) Where he does not agree with any decision based on examination, or a decision taken by the Board of Appeal, an applicant shall have the right to submit a claim to the court within six months after receiving the decision.
The Authorized Body may renew the deadline provided for by Article 33(4) and paragraph (1) of this article, and missed by the applicant, within three months of its expiry, based on a request filed by the applicant and subject to payment of the prescribed fee.
Article 35. Grounds for Refusing to Register an Appellation
A name may not be registered as an appellation of origin, which:
(a) has been filed for registration by persons lacking the requisite authorization;
(b) does not meet the requirements of Article 30 of this Law;
(c) is identical or similar to the point of confusion to an appellation already registered or filed for registration in the Republic of Armenia, for goods of the same type;
(d) is not compatible with the interests of society, principles of humanity and morality, or the customs of fair competition (business practice);
(e) subparagraph “e” of this Article has no effect as of 21.12.2004;
(f) is not protected, the protection of which has been terminated, or whose use is not permitted in the country of origin;
(g) is misleading, in particular as regards the character, quality or geographical origin of the good, even if the appellation is literally authentic according to the sense of the geographical location of origin of the good (in the case of identical appellations), but creates a false impression for the user whereby the good has been produced in a different geographical location. In the case of identical names, an appellation may be registered, if on the mark of the good some kind of distinguishing feature is clearly and visibly displayed, so as to preclude the user from being misled, for example by the name of the country or region of origin.
Article 36. Registration of an Appellation and Issue of a Certificate
for the Right to use the Appellation
(1) The Authorized Body shall, on the basis of a decision to register an appellation and within one month of receiving a receipt for payment of the prescribed fee, enter the appellation in the State Register of Appellations of Origin of the Republic of Armenia (hereinafter “the Register”). The Register shall contain the appellation, the particulars of the holder of the certificate for the right to use the appellation (hereinafter “the certificate”), the designation of the good for which the appellation in question is registered, a description of its particular features, other information according to a list drawn up by the Authorized Body relating to the registration and provision of the right to use the appellation, and also subsequent changes to the information.
(2) The certificate shall be issued by the Authorized Body within one month of the day on which the appellation is entered in the Register.
(3) The form of the certificate and the content of the information contained therein shall be determined by the Authorized Body.
Article 37. Period of Validity of a Certificate for the Right to use an Appellation
(1) A certificate shall be valid for a period of 10 years from the date on which the application is filed with the Authorized Body.
(2) The period of validity of a certificate may, at the request of its holder, be extended repeatedly, on each occasion for 10 years, if certificates from the appropriate competent authorities are submitted together with the request, concerning the fact that the certificate holder is in the geographical location in question and that the good with the features indicated in the certificate is produced. A request to extend the period of validity of the certificate shall be submitted during the final year of the current period of its validity.
(3) The period of validity of a certificate may also be extended at the request of the holder, submitted within six months of the expiry of the certificate’s period of validity, provided that an additional fee has been paid.
(4) The Authorized Body shall enter details of the extension of the period of a certificate’s validity in the Register and, at the holder’s request, on the certificate.
Article 38. Inclusion of Amendments in the Register
(1) A certificate holder shall inform the Authorized Body of a change in his appellation or family name, first name and patronymic, as well as of changes relating to the registration of and right to use the appellation.
(2) Changes shall be entered in the Register and on a certificate at the request of the certificate holder, provided that the prescribed fee has been paid.
Article 39. Publication of Information on the Registration and Provision of the Right to Use an Appellation
The Authorized Body shall, within three months of the day of registration, publish in its Official Journal, information concerning an appellation and entered in the Register in accordance with
Article 36 of this Law (excluding information relating to special features of a good).
Article 40. Registration of an Appellation Abroad
(1) Legal persons and individual manufacturers in the Republic of Armenia may register an appellation abroad.
(2) An application for registration of an appellation abroad shall be filed following the registration and acquisition of the right to use the appellation in the Republic of Armenia.
