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One of the factors that positively affects the activity of an entrepreneur is the presence of a trademark that distinguishes his goods or services from the goods or services of other entrepreneurs. However, it is not enough to have a trademark, the most important issue is to register it in accordance with the requirements of the legislation.

Registration of trademarks in the Republic of Azerbaijan is carried out by the Intellectual Property Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (hereinafter referred to as “Agency”) according to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan No. 504-IQ of June 12, 1998 “On trademarks and geographical indications” (hereinafter referred to as “Law”) and Decision No. 166 of October 15, 1999 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On the approval of the Rules of the submission and examination of the application for the registration of trademarks”.

What are the procedures for trademark registration in the Republic of Azerbaijan?

Trademark registration in the Republic of Azerbaijan generally includes the following procedures:

Submission of an application

The application for trademark registration can be submitted by the entrepreneur to the Agency in the following manner:

• Directly;
• Through a patent attorney registered in the Agency.

Unless other rules are provided in the interstate agreements to which the Republic of Azerbaijan is a party, foreign legal entities and individuals, with the exception of those performing entrepreneurial activities in the Republic of Azerbaijan, conduct legally significant matters with the Agency only through patent attorneys.

The application is submitted in the Azerbaijani language and other documents included in the application may be submitted in Azerbaijani or other languages, but their translation into Azerbaijani must be submitted to the Agency within 2 (two) months from the date of submission of the application.

Examination

Examination of the application consists of preliminary examination and examination (in essence).

Preliminary examination

The preliminary examination is carried out within 1 (one) month from the date of receipt of the application to the Agency.

During the preliminary examination, the content of the application, the availability of necessary documents, as well as compliance with the specified requirements are checked. Based on the results of the preliminary examination, the entrepreneur is notified that the application has been accepted for consideration or rejected.

Examination (in essence)

Examination (in essence) is carried out within 6 (six) months after the completion of the preliminary examination. At this time, the compliance of the claimed mark with the requirements of the Law is checked and its priority is determined.

* Based on the motion of the entrepreneur and the payment of the service fee determined by the Agency, the examination (in essence) is conducted within 1 (one) month.

Based on the results of the examination, the Agency makes a substantiated decision to register or refuse to register the trademark and sends it to the entrepreneur within 10 (ten) days.

The Agency sends an appropriate notification to the entrepreneur before making a rejection decision based on the result of the examination. If the entrepreneur does not agree with the result of the examination, he can submit his evidences within 2 (two) months from the date of receiving the notification.

When the entrepreneur does not agree with the decision of the examination, he can file an objection with the Board of Appeals of the Agency within 3 (three) months from the date of receiving the decision on the condition of paying the state duty.

Registration of a trademark in the state registry and issuance of a certificate

When a decision on trademark registration is made by the Agency based on the result of the examination, the trademark is registered after the entrepreneur pays the state duty within 4 (four) months. If the entrepreneur does not pay the state duty within the specified period, an additional 4 (four) months is granted to him on the condition of paying an additional state duty. When these conditions are not fulfilled, the decision of the examination is considered cancelled and the application is considered recalled.

Within 1 (one) month after the payment of the state duty, the trademark is registered in the state registry by the Agency.

The trademark certificate is issued by the Agency within 1 (one) month from the date of registration of the trademark in the state registry.

The trademark certificate confirms the fact of registration of the claimed mark as a trademark, its priority, the exclusive right of the entrepreneur to the goods and services provided, and contains a description of the registered sign.

How long does a trademark registration remain in force?

Trademark registration is valid for 10 (ten) years from the date of submission of the application to the Agency. This period can be extended for a period of 10 (ten) years each time without limitation by paying a fee based on the entrepreneur's application.

After the expiration of the validity period of the registration, a 6 (six) month deferment period is granted to the entrepreneur for its extension on the condition of paying an additional state duty. Information on the extension of the registration period is included in the registry and certificate and published in the official bulletin.

What is our recommendation to entrepreneurs?

Registration of trademarks confirms the exclusive right of entrepreneurs and strengthens the position of entrepreneurs to fight against illegal use of their trademarks by third parties. For this reason, we recommend entrepreneurs to register their trademarks in accordance with the requirements of the legislation in order to minimize the risks they may face during their activities.

About the author:

Emin Musayev graduated from the Faculty of Law at the Baku State University with a bachelor's degree in 2019 and from the Faculty of Intellectual Property Law at the Baku State University with a master's degree in 2022. He is a lawyer with over 2 years of experience in the area of law and specializes in contracts, intellectual property, corporate law, migration, public procurement. He is a lawyer at “Legalize” Law Firm. For more information about the author please see the following link:

https://www.legalize.az/en/team/emin-musayev

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