Maldives – What Happens if a TM Cautionary Notice is Published only in English?

TRADEMARK REGISTRATION IN MALDIVES

In Maldives, there is no statutory trademark law dealing with the mechanism of trademark registration; however, the resident companies, nationals of Maldives, and foreign applicants can still get their proposed marks registered as trademarks. A trademark, in Maldives, protects a word, slogan, phrase, logo, or some combination that connects a product or service with the manufacturer of that product or service and prevents the same from being used by someone else. A trademark can take many shapes, as long as the mark that an individual wants to protect is distinctive.

  • LOCAL APPLICANTS – The resident companies and nationals of Maldives can file an in-person trademark application (for their proposed trademarks) before the Ministry of Economic Development to obtain trademark protection.

*Note – Before going ahead with trademark registration, the resident companies and nationals must obtain business name registration.

  • FOREIGN APPLICANTS – Unlike most countries across the globe, the process of trademark registration in Maldives does not include the stages of filing, examination, and advertisement but is merely based on the publication of a Trademark (TM) Cautionary Notice. A trademark cautionary notice is a mere publication of a notice in the newspapers to inform/notify the general public about the mark that is registered as a trademark along with the legal trademark rights of its owner. The cautionary notice should include the details of the proprietor, description of the trademark, and classification of the goods/services according to the Nice Classification. The foreign applicants are required to publish a TM cautionary notice in the local newspaper in both English and in the vernacular, which is Dhivehi, thereby cautioning the public and trade about the ownership of the trademark.

*It is imperative to keep in mind that a TM cautionary notice must be published in the local newspaper in both English and Dhivehi (regional language) as publication only in English won’t have any legal effect. It won’t inform the public at large about the fact that the mark in question belongs to the said proprietor. Also, publication only in English reduces the possibility of any prior owner/user of the mark in question to contact the new owner/user immediately and prevent him or her from using it. 

TRADEMARK RENEWAL IN MALDIVES

Due to no specific trademark law in Maldives, trademark renewal involves the publication of the TM cautionary notice in the local newspaper after every 03 years; however, it is highly advisable to publish the registered trademark every year if the owner wants to establish the use of the mark in Maldives. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

Don’t forget to follow us on social media:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/trademarkmaldives/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/trademarkmaldiv

Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/company/trademarkmaldives/

Pinterest – https://in.pinterest.com/trademarkmaldives/

Tumblr – https://trademarkmaldives.tumblr.com/