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Amendments to Trademark Laws

Mrz 29, 2017 (Newsletter Issue 6/17)
Albania
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Substantive Changes to IP Law Introduced

Multiple changes to the Albanian Industrial Property Law debated since August 2016 were recently approved by Law No.17/2017, which entered into force on March 24, 2017.

According to the IPO, the main goal of these changes is to further harmonize Albanian law with the EU acquis and to create an equal level of enforcement to that existing in the EU. This is due to obligations deriving from Article 73 of the Albania-EU Association and Stabilization Agreement, in force as of April 2009.

Some of the multiple changes are the following:

- Functional and structural in the Albanian IPO have been changed. The IPO will be granted a larger role in enforcement procedures. The IPO will not only examine oppositions but will also handle different kinds of enforcement claims, including cancellation, invalidation and non-use actions and claims based on well-known status.
- Oppositions can now be also filed by holders of unregistered well-known trademarks and any person that contests a trademark applied for in bad faith.
- Observations by third parties have been introduced. Any third party that objects to the registration of a trademark has the right to submit a written observation, only on absolute grounds, to the Examination Division.
- Status for used marks and unregistered well-known marks now equal.
- “Trade Origin” to deceptive marks provision has been added.

For further information, please see the article from Ms Cami of PETOŠEVIĆ Albania which can be accessed here

Source: PETOŠEVIĆ, Albania