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Laws

The law of the Republic of Armenia on trademarks

• Chapter 1 - General provisions
• Chapter 2 - Legal protection of trademarks
• Chapter 3 - Duration of protection of a trademark
• Chapter 4 - Termination of rights to a trademark
• Chapter 5 - Assignment of rights to a trademark
• Chapter 6 - Well known trademarks
• Chapter 7 - Collective marks and certification marks
• Chapter 8 - Registration of a trademark
• Chapter 9 - The process of registration of a trademark
• Chapter 10 - International registration of trademarks
• Chapter 11 - Transitional provisions and entry into force of this law

Chapter 2: Legal protection of trademarks

Article 7. Legal Protection of Trademarks

1. In the territory of the Republic of Armenia, a trademark shall be granted legal protection:

(1) by virtue of state registration in accordance with the order established by this Law;

(2) by virtue of declaring the trademark as well-known in the Republic of Armenia;

(3) by virtue of international registration in accordance with the Madrid Agreement and the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement.

2. Legal protection of a trademark shall extend to the goods and/or services for which the trademark has been registered.

3. The list of the goods and services for which the trademark has been registered may be extended by the proprietor of the trademark only by filing a new application in accordance with the procedure established by this Law.

Article 8. Signs which may be Registered as Trademarks

The following signs represented graphically may be registered as trademarks:

(1) words, phrases, names, or slogans;

(2) letters or figures;

(3) pictures, images or symbols;

(4) three-dimensional images, in particular the shape of goods or of their packaging (container);

(5) holograms, colours, combinations of colours or their compositions;

(6) sounds;

(7) any combinations of signs referred to in subparagraphs 1 to 5 of this Article.

Article 9. Absolute Grounds for Refusal of Trademark Registration

1. A sign shall not be eligible for registration where it:

(1) does not meet the requirements of Article 8 of this Law;

(2) is devoid of any distinctive character;

(3) consists exclusively of indexes or signs which serve, in trade, to indicate the time of production of the goods or of rendering of the service, type, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin or other characteristics of the goods and/or services;

(4) consists exclusively of signs or indexes which have become common in the current language or acquire the fair reputation in trade practices;

(5) represents exclusively the outward appearance of the goods which results from the nature (features) of the goods that is necessary to obtain a technical result or depict the purpose (functionality) of the goods, or gives substantial value to the goods;

(6) is contrary to public policy or to principles of humanism or morality, or undermines national or spiritual values;

(7) is liable for deceiving the public in regard to the geographical origin, quality, nature, or producer of the goods or services;

(8) reproduces or includes state emblems, flags or symbols, official state names or their abbreviations, full or abbreviated names of international and intergovernmental organisations, official symbols, as well as hallmarks denoting state control, guarantee and fineness, stamps, seals, awards, and other distinguishing signs (in accordance with Article 6ter of the Paris Convention), or is resemble to them so as to create a likelihood of confusion;

(9) reproduces marks or emblems, which are not protected by Article 6ter of the Paris Convention, but represents particular public interest;

(10) includes symbols of great importance, in particular religious or cultural heritage, if it contains elements disgracing religious or moral values;

(11) reproduces or includes elements which are identical with or which possess a confusingly resemble with the images or official names of the cultural heritage of the Republic of Armenia or the international cultural heritage, or confusingly resemble with images of cultural values kept in funds and collections, where the registration is claimed in the name of a person who is not the proprietor thereof and does not hold a relevant authorisation;

(12) consists of or includes a geographical indication and has been filed for such goods, which are not originated from the area bearing this indication, if the use of that mark in the Republic of Armenia misleads the public as for the real origin of the goods. This provision shall also apply to the geographical indication which, despite that indicates the real origin of the goods, nevertheless confuse the public so as if the goods are originated from another area;

(13) consists of or contains a geographical indication ascertaining wines, for wines not originated from the area bearing the geographical indication specified or a geographical indication ascertaining spirits, for sprits not originated from the area bearing the geographical indication specified, even if the real origin of the product is specified or the geographical indication is used in a translated version or in conjunction with such expressions as "sort", "type", "style", "imitation" and similar to them.

2. Subparagraphs 1. (2) - (4) of this Article shall not apply if the applicant produces sufficient evidence, that as a result of use, before the filing of the application, the mark assumed the distinctive feature with respect to the goods and/or services for which it was filed for registration.

3. Signs referred to in subparagraphs 1(8) and (9) of this Article may be included in the trademark as non protected elements, if they do not prevail over and there exists an authorisation by the appropriate Authorized Body;

4. Geographical indication and appellations of origin protected in the Republic of Armenia may be included in the trademark only in the case, when the applicant has acquire the right to use it, in accordance with the order established by law. The use of a geographical indication of other countries shall be permitted in the trademark if it is not contrary to the requirements of this Law, is registered in the country of origin and the applicant holds an authorisation to use it. Geographical indications and appellations of origin included in the trademark shall be considered as non protected elements in the trademark.

Article 10. Relative Grounds for Refusal of Trademark Registration

1. A sign shall not be subject to registration where it:

(1) is identical to an earlier trademark, which is registered for the same goods and/or services;

(2) If because of its identity with or similarity to an earlier trademark when the goods and/or services denoted by it, as well as its identity and similarity, is creating likelihood of confusion for the consumers, including correlation with the earlier trademark (confusingly similar);

(3) is identical or similar to an earlier trademark and is to be registered for goods and/or services which are not similar to those goods and/or services, for which the earlier trademark is registered, in the case the earlier trademark has a reputation in the Republic of Armenia and if the use of the claimed trademark would lead to unfair advantages due to the distinctive feature or the reputation of the earlier trademark, or would be prejudicial to the distinctive feature or the reputation of the earlier trademark;

(4) is identical or confusingly similar to the trade name of a person, which in the territory of the Republic of Armenia has acquired rights to that name prior to the date of application for the registration of the trademark or prior to the date of priority and which has, prior to that date, carried out actual activities in the field of production or services of the same or similar products (which the registration of the trademark has been applied for), where such identity or similarity will be prejudicial to the reputation of the trade name;

(5) is identical or similar to a geographical indication or appellations of origin of goods protected in the Republic of Armenia, with the exception of cases when in the trademark, which is applied for registration, those goods are included as non protected elements and the application is filed by a person authorized to use the geographical indication or the designation of origin of goods:

(6) reproduces or includes, with an earlier date of priority, subject matters of industrial design, utility model or any other subject matters of Industrial Property protected in the Republic of Armenia;

(7) reproduces or includes literary, scientific or artistic works protected under the Law on Copyright, the names thereof, quotations, extracts (fragments) and characters thereof, if the rights have been acquired before the date of priority of the filing trademark ( if there is an existence of such priority date).

(8) reproduces or includes the name, surname or pseudonym of a well-known person or a portrait of any other person where the similarity to them leads to confusion.

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article, earlier trademarks shall be the following:

(1) trademarks, which date of filing application precedes the priority date of the filing trademark that is in the discussion, or if a priority has been claimed in accordance with Article 42 of this Law, or if, in accordance with Article 42 of this Law, it has been claimed a priority to that priority date, shall be constituted as:

(a) trademarks protected in the territory of the Republic of Armenia by virtue of registration;

(b) trademarks protected in the territory of the Republic of Armenia by virtue of an international registration;

(2) trademark applications claimed for registration as referred to in subparagraphs (1) (a) and
(b) of this paragraph, subject to granting of legal protection to them in the future;

(3) trademarks which have, by the date of filing application of trademarks or by the date of priority claimed in accordance with Article 42 of this Law, been declared as well-known in the Republic of Armenia in accordance with the order established by this Law.

3. The registration of a sign, under paragraph 1 of this Article, as a trademark may not be refused if an earlier trademark or the proprietor of an earlier trademark, or his/her successor or, in some cases, the appropriate State Authority has confirmed their consent thereto, with the exception of identical trademarks, which have been claimed for similar goods and/or services.

4. A trademark shall be subject to refusal if:

(1) the it is filed by the agent or representative of a third person who is the proprietor of the trade or service mark in a country party to Paris Convention or member to the World Trade Organization, without the authorisation of that proprietor, unless the agent or representative justifies his action.

(2) the trade mark is identical with, or similar to, an earlier trade mark which was registered for identical or similar goods or services and conferred on them a right which has expired for failure to renew within a period of a maximum of two years preceding application, unless the proprietor of the earlier trade mark gave his agreement for the registration of the later mark or did not use his trade mark;

(3). The trade mark is liable to be confused with a mark which was in use abroad on the filing date of the application and which is still in use there, provided that at the date of the application the applicant was acting in bad faith. The applicant’s actions are considered to be in bad faith if at the moment of filing the application the applicant knew or could know about the existence of such a trademark. The applicant’s actions are considered to be in bad faith as well if for the purpose of registration of the trademark the applicant has provided such fake and groundless documents without the presence of which the registration of the trademark would not be possible.

Article 11. Disclaimers

1. A trademark may not contain elements which are not eligible for registration as separate trademarks.

2. Where a trademark contains elements referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and if there are valid reasons which can cause doubts for the registration of the trademark regarding its protection, such elements may, upon the request of the applicant, be declared as disclaimed elements by the decision of the Sate Authorized Body or the Court.

3. If the grounds leading to the declaration of the elements of the trademark as disclaimed are eliminated, a new application for the registration of the trademark containing such elements may be filed without the restriction referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article.

4. Disclaimer shall not affect the exclusive right of the proprietor to the trademark.

Article 12. Exclusive Right to the Trademark

1. The proprietor of the registered trademark shall have an exclusive right to prevent third parties, without his consent, to use any sign in the course of trade which:

(1) is identical to the registered trademark and is used in relation to goods and/or services for which the trademark is registered;

(2) is identical or similar to the registered trademark, which is used in relation to the goods and/or services which are identical or similar to the goods and/or services for which the trademark is registered, where the use of such sign creates a likelihood of confusion on the part of public, including association with the registered trademark;

(3) is identical or similar to the trademark registered for other goods and/or services, where the latter has a reputation in the Republic of Armenia and the use of that sign would cause unfair advantage for the trademark or be prejudicial to the distinctive feature or the reputation of the trademark.

2. The proprietor of the trademark may, in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, prevent third parties from taking the following actions:

(1) affixing the sign on the goods or on the packaging thereof, as well as, in case of a three-dimensional trademark, its use as packaging of such goods;

(2) offering the goods, their sale or storage for these purposes, or supplying or offering services under that sign;

(3) importing or exporting goods under that sign;

(4) using the sign on documents and in advertising;

(5) using the sign on the Internet or on other global computer telecommunication networks, in particular by any modes of addressing, including Internet domains;

(6) reproduction, storing or selling of the goods for the purposes referred to in subparagraphs (1) to (4) of this paragraph.

3. The following shall, inter alia, considered an infringement of the distinctive feature of the sign as referred to in paragraph 1(3) of this Article:

(1) the sign is used as a trade name and, due to the similarity of the sign to the registered trademark, this use is confusing the public as to the goods and/or services for which the trade mark is registered;
(2) the reproduction or presentation of the sign in advertisements or in the media creates an impression that it constitutes a generic name of certain goods and /or services.

4. The exclusive right to the trademark shall become effective as against third parties on the date of publication by the State Authorized Body of official information on the registration of the trademark or on the date of entering in the International Register information on granting legal protection to the trademark in the Republic of Armenia.
The trademark proprietor may require compensation within the limits of the damage caused against actions stated in paragraph 2 and 3 of this Article after official publication of the application or information on international registration of the trademark, which shall be prohibited after the of publication of information on registration of the trademark or the publication of the registration in the International Register on granting legal protection to the trademark in the Republic of Armenia.
The court may not make a substantive decision based on a relevant claim before the publication of information on the registration of the trademark or the publication of the registration in the International Register on granting legal protection to the trademark in the Republic of Armenia.

5. The proprietor of the trademark may place, next to the trademark, a warning mark in the form of encircled letter “R” or wording on the protection of the trademark in the Republic of Armenia. If there is not entitlement to include the “R”, the previous act would be considered unfair practices.

6. Goods, packaging and labels thereof on which trademarks are used unlawfully, shall be deemed fake and imitated.


Article 13. Limitation on the Exclusive Right

1. Exclusive right shall not extend to the elements of the trademark which are not eligible for registration as a separate trademarks under this Law, in particular to the elements of descriptive character, upon the condition of fair use without violation of the rights of the trademark proprietor and third parties as well.

2. Exclusive right shall not entitle the proprietor of the trademark to prohibit third parties to use, in accordance with fair practices accepted by the public, in the process of production and commercial activity:

(1) their forename (name) or seat (address);

(2) indications concerning the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin of the goods or of the service supplied, as well as the geographical origin or other characteristics of the production of the goods or of the service supplied;

(3) the trademark where it is necessary to indicate the intended purpose of a product and/or service, in particular as complex or auxiliary parts, executing the use of which is not prejudicial to the lawful interests of the proprietor of the trademark or of third parties and does not mislead the public;

(4) the trademark in comparative advertising if such advertising is not prohibited by law.

Article 14. Exhaustion of the Rights to a Trademark

1. The proprietor of the registered trademark shall not be entitled to prohibit the use by third parties of the trademark in relation to goods which have been denoted and put in commercial circulation by the proprietor or with his consent in any country.

2. Provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply if the prohibition of use of a trademark is conditioned by its proprietor implementing the Investments Project approved by the Government of the Republic of Armenia.

3. Provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply if the proprietor provides argumented objection to further sale of the goods, especially if in the process of marketing the characteristics of these goods are altered naturally or by interference.

Article 15. Presentation of a Trademark in Dictionaries

1. If the presentation of a registered trademark in a dictionary, encyclopaedia or other similar reference publications gives the impression that it constitutes the generic name or common name for the goods or services for which the trademark is registered, the appropriate publisher must, at the request of the proprietor of the trademark, ensure the presentation of the trademark at the latest in the next edition of the publication, accompanied the placing of the trademark by an indication.

2. Provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall also apply to publications in electronic form.

Article 16. Registration of a Trademark Without the Authorization of the Proprietor of the Trademark

1. Where an agent or representative of the proprietor of the trademark or any other person, which is protected in one of member states of Paris Convention has filed an application of registration without permission of the trademark proprietor the latter is entitled to oppose the registration for the claimed trademark or demand its cancellation or the assignment of that trademark in his favour, unless such agent, representative or other person justifies his/her action.

2. In the case specified in paragraph 1 of this Article the proprietor of the trademark shall be entitled to bring an action before the court to prevent the use of the trademark, without the latter’s permission, by his/her agent, representative or other person.

Article 17. Use of the Trademark and Consequences of Non-use

1. For the purpose of this Article use of the trademark shall be considered:

1) the placing of the trademark on goods for which the trademark is registered or on the packaging thereof;

2) application of the trademark in advertisements, publications, as well as official forms, posters, only in such cases when application of the mark on the goods or on the packaging thereof is impossible;

3) application of the actions mentioned in clause 2 of this paragraph for services

2. The registration of a trademark may, on the basis of court decision as a result of hearing of a claim filed by any person or a counter claim for the rights protection, be cancelled with regard to all or part of the goods and/or services for which it is registered where within a continuous period of five uninterrupted years after the date of the registration of the trademark or, in case of filing the claim (counter claim) at a later date, the proprietor or the person entitled by this Law has not put the trade mark to genuine use during an uninterrupted period of five years immediately proceeding filing the claim or the counter claim. The evidence on use of the trademark shall be presented by the right holder or the person having a right to use that trademark according to this Law.

3. A trademark shall be considered to be in genuine use if the right holder or the person having a right to use that trademark according to this Law has used the trademark with regard to goods or services produced for a certain uninterrupted period of time or with periodically resumption or being in commercial circulation, provided that the mentioned use corresponds with the level of consumption of that good or service.

4. The claim or counter claim for the revocation of trademark may not be satisfied if during the interval between the period of filing the claim or counter claim the trademark has become a subject to assignment or license contract or genuine use of the trademark has commenced or resumed. However, if the commencement of resumption of genuine use has taken place three months prior to the filing the claim or counter claim for of the trademark and the latter period began at the earliest on expiry of the continuous period of five years of non-use then the use shall not be taken into consideration if the preparation of the commencement or resumption of the genuine use of the trademark has occurred only after the proprietor becomes aware that the claim or counter claim for revocation may be filed.

5. Registration of the trademark may not be terminated in relation to all or part of the goods and/or services on the basis established by paragraph 2 of this Law, where:

(1) the right holder or the person having right to use the trademark according to this Law provides facts that the use of the trademark was prevented due to insuperable, unforeseen circumstances beyond his control;

(2) the right holder or the person having right to use the trademark according to this Law, in such a way that it was distinguished from the registered one by non altered particular elements of its distinguishing feature;

(3) the trademark has been placed in the Republic of Armenia on goods and/or on the packaging thereof solely for export purposes.