Since January 25, 2010 the amendments to the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Trademarks and Service Marks” have come into effect. Below you will find the major changes and amendments.

·                     A set of people entitled to file a Trademark application has been expanded. Now an organization (regardless of the legal status evidence) or a citizen can stand as an applicant;

·                     the procedures associated to the Trademark applications consideration have been brought into line with the requirements of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On administrative procedures basis”;

·                     a right of any person to look through the Trademark application documents submitted as of the filing date has been consolidated;

·                     the term of filing to the Board of Appeals a complaint to the examination decision has been extended from three months to one year, while the term of the complaint consideration by the Board of Appeals has been reduced from four to one month;

·                     a new section “Well-known Trademark” has been introduced, wherein the notion of a well-known Trademark is disclosed on a legislative level, and a procedure of acceptance of a Trademark as notorious is determined. The Law has fixed that a notorious Trademark is protected unlimitedly. A basis for the notorious Trademark legal protection cessation is loss of general notoriety in the Republic of Belarus among the corresponding consumers in respect of a definite group of goods, for which it has been accepted as notorious;

·                     it is established that registration of a Trademark, the legal protection term of which has already expired, in the name of a new owner is allowed no sooner than in six months after registration expiration date. At the same time if a prior Trademark owner filed to the patent authority a declaration of abandonment of its mark legal protection, this Trademark registration in the name of a new owner can be carried out before six months expiration;

·                     the possible methods of the Trademark use are specified. The use is accomplished through the Trademark application on the good, for which it is registered, as well as on the labels, packages, in the global network Internet (including in the domain name), on the documents related to the introduction of the goods into the civil circulation, at the works execution, rendering of service. It is also allowed to use a Trademarks with its separate elements being changed, not influencing on its distinctiveness and not limiting the legal protection, granted to the Trademark;

·                     the period of a Trademark non-use has been reduced from five to three years;

·                     a statutory possibility of pledge of rights to a Trademark has been provided for;

·                     the liability of the contracting parties to notify the patent authority about conclusion of the Trademark assignment agreements, Trademark pledge agreements and license agreements registration. The recordal of the said agreements has been repealed.

·                     definition of the term “infringing goods” is given and provisions of the Law are specified, concerning the civil rights protection from the Trademark unlawful use, in particular, it is determined that removal of the unlawfully used Trademark from the goods as well as destruction of the infringing goods is accomplished at the expense of a guilty person;