HOW ONE MAY REGISTER A TRADEMARK IN RWANDA

HOW ONE MAY  REGISTER A TRADEMARK IN RWANDA

Governing laws include

• The constitution of the Republic of  RWANDA as amended
• LAW N° 31/2009 OF26/10/2009 ON THE PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
• Ministerial order n°24 of 17/03/2016 determining fees payable for registration services of intellectual property

A trademark is means a sign or mark or combination of signs or marks capable of being represented graphically and capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of another undertaking.
The trademark should not be misleading for it to be registered in Rwanda.
A trademark may consist of any word, symbol, design, slogan, logo, colour, label, name, signature, letter, numeral or any combination of them and should be capable of being represented graphically.
Once a trademark is registered it takes a period of seven years to expire and upon expiry, it is renewed for every ten years on application by a registered user/owner.
Below is the procedure for registering a trademark in Rwanda

1. Reduce the intended trademark in material form i.e. draw it.
2. Obtain trade mark search form from Registrar of trademarks at RDB.
3. Fill the proposed trade mark details for search at the registry of trademarks (RDB).
4. Pay search fee at the bank as advised and pick payment slip.
5. Submit your search form with intended mark(s) together with payment receipt to Registrar General’s office for search.
6. You may obtain advice from the registrar as to whether the proposed trademark appears to the registrar to be inherently adapted to distinguish or capable of distinguishing goods or services of the proposed undertaking from those of other undertakings.
7. Depending on the registrar’s advice, prepare your application for trade mark registration addressed to Registrar General at RDB
8. OBTAIN Trade mark registration form and it filling accordingly indicating all particulars including the NICE classification.
9. Attach the address and contacts of the applicant.
10. Have your application assessed for application fee at either BK or RDB offices.
11. Pick the assessment slip and pay according application fee as advised.
12. On the application attach or fix the proposed mark to be used, the class of goods or services, the applicant’s name, address and the signature.
13. The foreign applicant (entity) shall appoint a lawyer as his or her agent/authorized industrial property agent for purposes of trade mark registration in Rwanda either by granting him or her powers of attorney or instruction letter.
14. Foreign applicants will have to attach notarized copies of the certificate of incorporation while local applicants should attach copy of their domestic company certificate of registration.
15. Submit the application for registration of trade mark together with the PAYMENT receipts to the office of registrar of trade marks at Rwanda Development Board(RDB) for consideration.
16. The registrar will then determine if the trademark is registrable and whether it conflicts with prior existing registrations or applications for trademark registrations.
17. If the registrar considers the intended mark registrable (if the registrar accepts the application) he or she shall register it.
18. The certificate of registration will be prepared and issued to you
    Author is A regional transactions legal consultant (ADVOCATE) at NOA REGIONAL ASSOCIATED ADVOCATES AND LEGAL CONSULTANTS
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    NOTE: whereas the author has made necessary efforts to ensure the accuracy of this post, it is not intended to provide specific legal advice to a particular individual as individual situations may differ.
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