From March 8, 2024, the amendments to the Law of Georgia “On Trademarks” came into force, which were prepared within the framework of the European integration of the country and aimed to improve the mechanisms of legal protection of trademarks.
The changes affected various aspects related to the trademark.
In particular, the absolute and relative grounds for refusal to register a trademark were initially established. The absolute grounds for a refusal to register a trademark if it refers only to the shape of the goods or another feature that is due to the properties of the goods is necessary to achieve a technical result and/or adds substantial value to the goods. The reason for refusal to register a trademark is no longer a circumstance when the trademark was one non-stylized (standard) letter, number, or one color taken separately. The new edition defines the grounds for refusal to register symbols that represent a generic concept.
The law provides for the possibility of submitting the consent of the owner of the opposed registered trademark or design, which allows the applicant to register a trademark that is similar to the already protected trademark or design. The letter of consent might be provided both at the stage of substantive examination and during the appeal of the final Office’s decision.
The changes also affected the deadlines for trademark examination. The term of the formal examination was reduced from 2 to 1 month, and the term of payment of the formal examination fee was determined by 15 calendar days. In addition, applicants were allowed to request an expedited trademark examination within 3 months of receiving the notification of acceptance of the application.
Applicants/trademark owners are allowed to request a division of the trademark and different priorities may be set for listing different goods and/or services.