Trade and Service Marks

– Trademark Law of February 4, 1999, in force since May 24, 1999, amended in 2006, 2010 and 2017.

Membership in International Conventions

– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since December 25, 1991.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since January 18, 1994.
– Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, since May 20, 1998.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since June 14, 2000.
– Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks, since February 28, 2003.
– Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, Stockholm Act, since September 23, 2004.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since May 14, 2007.

Filing

Applicant: natural persons or legal entities.

Foreigners: enjoy the same rights as nationals; a registered Georgian agent is no longer requested.

Service marks: protection is provided for.

Kinds of protection: individual and collective trademarks.

Not registrable: commonly used symbols suggesting the origin of the mark or products; terms describing quality, quantity, place and date of the production or realization of a mark or products; symbols which appearance or contents may create confusion with consumers; symbols, similar or identical to those already protected in accordance with the provisions of the Paris Convention, or signs containing States flags, emblems, hymns, abbreviated names of an international or an intergovernmental organization, official stamps; symbols which are contrary to the national dignity, religious feelings, humanitarian principles and to the morality and tradition; names, surnames, pseudonyms, facsimiles, and portraits of private persons without their consent.

Priority: (no multiple priorities) in accordance with the Paris Convention.

Classification: international. 

Territory covered: Georgia.

Filing requirements for an application (recommended to be sent to resident agent):
1. Power of attorney (no notarization or legalization) when the application is filed via an agent;
2. 1 print of the sign to be protected (not a word mark);
3. List of goods and services according to the 11th Edition of the Nice Classification;
4. Priority document, if any (to be filed within three months from the filing date). Georgia joined the WIPO Digital Access Service (DAS), therefore a copy of the priority document(s) is available for Examiners by the DAS;
5. For a collective mark: regulation of the collective mark (this is obligatory for international collective marks too).

Electronic filing: only available in Georgian language.

Electronic signatures: are accepted if the link for its verification is filed. Scanned copies of signed documents are also accepted, however, the original must be sent at a later date.

For a change of name or address: an official document confirming the changes showing the old and new name/address, original or notary confirmed copy (no legalization). Scanned copies of documents are temporarily accepted, however, the original must be sent at a later date.

Examination Procedure

Formal examination: is carried out within two months from the filing date. The priority is determined by the filing date at the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia "Sakpatenti" or in accordance with the Paris Convention, and if the priority documents are filed within not more than three months after the filing date. Additional material is to be filed within two months after the application is filed.

Substantive examination: is carried out within six months after the formal examination, including checking the absolute and comparative grounds for refusal. A decision of registration is then issued.

Accelerated examination: the accelerated procedure of examination for the trademark application is available. The request for the accelerated examination should be made simultaneously with filing of the trademark application or within one month from this date. Within the same term, the set of application materials should be submitted fully, including original power of attorney and the document proving the right of the applicant to claim the priority; the official fee should be paid also. The trademark gets registered after ten business days from filing the request for the accelerated examination.

Amendments of application: possible during the formal examination. After fixing the priority, and before the mark is accepted for registration, only amendments not modifying essentially the claimed sign and not enlarging the list of goods or services could be accepted.

Disclaimers: available. 

Letters of consent: can be accepted to overcome an objection based on an older registration, if (1) trademarks are not identical; (2) the applicant and the owner of the earlier registration belong to one and same commercial or financial group or related companies. The letter of consent may be accepted in some specific cases also. The LoC only needs to be printed on the official letterhead of the company giving consent.

Granting and Protection

Publication: in the Official Bulletin within one month from the issuance of the favorable decision.

Objection to the granting decision: after the issuance of the decision (on the basis of formal or substantive examination), an appeal may be filed within three months, with the Chamber of Appeal.  The three-month term for filing the appeal is calculated in different ways for national and international trademarks. For national trademarks the three-month term is calculated from the date of receipt of the refusal decision by the applicant. For international trademarks the term for appealing is calculated from the date of publication of the notification of provisional refusal in the WIPO Gazette.

Opposition: after the publication, any third party may submit an opposition against the registration at the Chamber of Appeal within three months from the date of publication of the registration decision. The Chamber of Appeal's decision may be appealed at Mtskheta's regional Civil Court.

Registration: possible after expiry of the three-month period from the date of publication or after the reconsideration of objections submitted by third parties to the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia "Sakpatenti".

Delivery of document: the trademark certificate is issued in paper format.

Beginning and duration of protection: ten years from the date of registration.

Renewal: possible for further ten-year periods. Renewal is carried out within the last year before the expiration date, with the payment of a renewal fee.

Late renewal: possible, within the six months after the expiration date, without payment of an additional fee.

Use: compulsory. Use should take place in Georgia within a continuous period of five years, otherwise the mark may be cancelled on the ground of non-use by a court. First non-use period starts with the registration date. Is considered valid trademark use: affixing the mark to the products or to its packages, use by a licensee, export of marked goods or services, use at exhibitions and fairs held in Georgia, nominal use such as publication, advertising in newspapers, promotional materials. Renewal does not constitute valid use.

Assignment: must be registered in a written form.

License: it is not obligatory to register the license agreement.

Modification of Protection after Registration

Rights of prior user: no provision.

Compulsory license: provided for.

Grounds for cancellation: Sakpatenti shall cancel the trademark at the request of the owner. The court may cancel the registration if (a) the mark has not been in use for the last five years; (b) the mark becomes a generic term for protected goods; (c) the use of the trademark misleads the public as to the nature or geographical origin of the goods; (d) the mark has been registered in breach of the Trademark Law or with unfair intention by the agent without the owner’s permission; (e) the trademark infringes the Company name rights of the trademark; (f) the trademark infringes the Copyrights.

Infringement: unauthorized exploitation or any other kind of marketing of products bearing a protected sign shall constitute infringement of the right of the trademark owner.