Trade and Service Marks

– Law No. 50/AN/09/06ème L of July 19, 2009 on Industrial Property.
– Law No. 49/AN/09/06ème L of April 19, 2009 creating the Djibouti Office for Industrial Property (ODPIC).
– Decree No. 2009-0271/PR/MCI of December 5, 2009 on ODPIC organization, published December 15, 2009.
– Decree No. 2011-079/PR/MCC of May 25, 2011, published May 31, 2011 for application of the Law No. 50/AN/09/06ème L on Industrial Property.
– Decree No. 2012-169/PR/MDC of March 1, 2012 on content of ODPIC Registers, published March 15, 2012.
– Law No. 159/AN/12/6ème L of June 9, 2012 establishing the official fees of ODPIC.

Notes: trade and service marks have always been registrable in Djibouti since Independence. They are now protected by application of the above texts. Further, trademarks are protected without limitation in the Djibouti Free Zones under the Law dated October 29, 2000, Art. 201 of the new Customs Code (Law No. 140/AN/11/06ème L of December 8, 2011) and Art. 25 of the Free Zones Code dated May 17, 2004.

Membership in International Conventions

– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since May 31, 1995.
– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since May 13, 2002.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since May 13, 2002.
– Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin, Geneva Act, as of May 13, 2024.

Filing

Applicant: any person or legal entity.

Foreigners: may apply for registration of patents subject to reciprocity, but must have a representative in Djibouti if not resident.

Types of marks: trademarks, service marks, collective marks.

Registrable: names, geographical names, letters, figures, labels, emblems, holograms, shape of a product or set-up, combination or disposition of colors, tone signals.

Excluded from registration: marks used to name kind, quality, destination, value, geographical origin or time of production of goods or services, or any other characteristic; marks which have become usual in trade; marks which consist exclusively of necessary genetic or technical form or sign of the product or services; colors not delimited by a form; state and international organizations’ emblems, hall marks, control or guarantee marks, national or foreign decorations, national or foreign coins and banknotes; marks contrary to morality or public order; signs which are apt to deceive the public, notably on nature, quality, geographic origin of product or service; marks which infringe rights of a third party (mark registered or well-known, commercial name if confusion possible for the public); protected geographical names and appellations of origin.

Classification: international (according to Nice Agreement). An application can include several classes, without limitation.

Filing requirements to be sent to resident agent for filing an application:
1. Power of attorney (not legalized), can cover several applications present and future;
2. 5 prints of the mark (designation, pattern, packaging, presentation, naming) indicating the colors, combinations, dispositions to be covered, list of products and services designated and the classes to be covered (max. size 8 x 8 cm);
3. Priority may be claimed: official copy of former application and authorization of the owner of former application must be filed;
4. For collective marks: status determining the conditions of use;
5. For sound marks: description;
6. Payment of ODPIC fees for examination, registration and legal advertisement.

Electronic filing: any filing of documents (application, additional documents, corrections or amendments) may be transmitted by e-mail through the local agent. ODPIC might request the original documents to be sent at a later date.

Examination, Registration and Protection

Examination: ODPIC only examines if the mark is distinctive, not deceptive and not contrary to public order or an official sign and if all documents are filed; the control of novelty or breach of third party rights is limited. For formal rejection, the applicant has a delay of three months to fulfill documents and the date of registration will be the date of completion. Rejection is notified by ODPIC to the applicant by registered letter and can be appealed before the Djibouti Court. 

Disclaimers: available.

Letters of consent: not accepted.

Duration of registration: ten years from the filing date; confers an exclusive right on the mark, restricted to the goods and services designated in the application and to similar products or services. Highly notorious marks may benefit from wider protection. Right of mark owner is opposable to third parties from date of publication.

Renewal: for further periods of ten years, without limit, six months before the end of the period. Grace period: six months with surtax.

Publication: is made by ODPIC in the local newspaper.

Opposition: not possible. Action in revendication is possible only before court and in a delay of three years from registration (except in case of bad faith registration).

Use: compulsory, non-use during a period of five years may render the registration vulnerable to a cancellation action introduced by any third party. Use by a licensee or with authorization of the owner given anywhere in the world is considered as valid, as well as use under a modified form or affixing the trademark on goods or their packaging only for export. Use is not a pre-requisite for registration or renewal.

Annulment: nullification action must be instructed before Djibouti Court. Only owner of prior rights is entitled to ask for annulment for attempt to his rights, but if he has tolerated the use of an infringing mark for five years, he is no longer entitled to cancellation action. The owner of a trademark shall also be liable to revocation of his trademark if it has become a common name in trade for the goods or services or has become liable to mislead as regards the nature, quality or geographical origin of the goods or services.

Licenses and assignments: possible; must be registered.

Arrest: of a trademark can be asked by any creditor and must be authorized by an order of the First Instance Court President and validated by judgment of the court. After validation of the arrest, the trademark can be sold by auction.

Well-known mark owner (as defined by Art. 6bis of the Paris Convention and Art. 16(2) and (3) of the ODPIC Convention) not filed in Djibouti, may request the cancellation of a registered mark similar to his own well-known mark within five years of the filing date of this latter, unless registered in bad faith.

Infringement

Infringement of marks gives rise to civil or criminal liability.

Definition of infringement: civil and penal actions and penalties are the same as for “patents“. In case of substitution of a product or service, the bailiff has to show the court order before delivery of the product or service. The President of the Court may also order at the beginning of the proceedings confiscation of goods or tools used for infringement.