Mikhailyuk, Sorokolat & Partners

Patent and Trademark Attorneys
Trademark in Georgia

TRADEMARK IN GEORGIA

Mikhailyuk, Sorokolat & Partners offers the full range of legal services related to trademarks in Georgia (Sakartvelo) including trademark search, trademark registration, trademark renewal, recordal of assignment and license agreements, recordal of changes to applications and registrations, as well as representing clients in courts. We do our best to represent our clients' interests in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.


Requirements for trademark registration

According to the legislation of Georgia, designations that are similar with or identical to the trademarks previously registered or applied for registration in respect of similar goods and/or services cannot be registered.

In order to determine whether there are any similar or identical registered trademarks or filed trademark applications that may be opposed to your mark at the examination stage, please use the online trademark search tool which is available on our website or contact us to order professional trademark search.

The online trademark search in Georgia

Information and documents needed for filing

  • Name and address of the applicant;
  • Prints of the trademark;
  • List of goods and/or services in accordance with the Nice Classification;
  • Certified copies of priority documents, if priority is to be claimed (may be filed to the Georgian Trademark Office within three months from the filing date);
  • Signed Power of Attorney, legalization and notarization are not required (may be filed to the Georgian Trademark Office within one month from the filing date).

Trademark registration procedure

After the completion of filing, the Official notification of the receipt of the application is issued within approximately 2 months. Then the Georgian trademark application passes to substantive examination which is conducted for about 6 months. On condition that the trademark meets the requirements of protectability the grant decision is issued and the trademark is published for a 3-months opposition period. Upon expiry of this term and in absence of oppositions the notification requesting the payment of the registration fee is issued. The certificate of registration is issued within 2-3 months after payment of the prescribed registration fee.

The smooth trademark registration procedure takes approximately 14 months in Georgia.

Foreign applicants having no permanent residence or registration address in Georgia should appoint as a representative a registered Georgian trademark attorney or any capable person registered at a definite address of Georgia


Possible oppositions and cancellation requests

Opposition period against trademark application in Georgia is 3 months from the date of publication.

Interested parties may also file cancellation requests after trademark registration, namely:

  • cancellation based on relative grounds may be filed to Court within the entire period of validity of the trademark;
  • cancellation based on absolute grounds may be filed to Court within the entire period of validity of the trademark;
  • cancellation based on non-use may be filed to Court. The grace period is 5 years from registration or prior to the date of filing cancellation.

Trademark validity and renewal

A trademark in Georgia is valid for 10 years from the date of registration and can be further renewed every 10 years. It is possible to apply for a trademark renewal within 12 months before expiry of validity term. There is also a 6-month grace period which allows applying for a renewal after the deadline without payment of additional fees. Reinstatement of a lapsed trademark (after grace period expiration) is not possible.

Required documents: signed Power of Attorney.


Frequently asked questions

  • Can I file a trademark application to Georgia by myself?
    In order to file applications by themselves applicants should have a registration address in Georgia or a permanent residence of the country. Otherwise, applicants should appoint a trademark attorney or a representative registered at a definite address of Georgia, to whom all documents intended for the applicant will be sent.
  • What are the grounds for refusal in trademark registration in Georgia?
    A trademark is usually refused in registration if it is similar with or identical to earlier filed or registered trademarks in respect of the same or similar goods/services, as well as in case of lack of distinctiveness or misleading character of a mark.
  • How can I conduct a trademark search prior to filing an application?
    You may order a service of a professional search or use our free online trademark search tool, where you can conduct a search by entering mark name and class number. Please consider the following information when checking the mark name:
    — different variants of spelling of the word should be checked (HERMES — ERMES, HERMEZ, etc);
    — parts of the mark should be checked together and separately (MAXINORM — MAX, NORM);
    — spelling of the word should be checked both in Latin and Georgian script (Poker - პოკერი);
    — meaning of the word should be checked in other languages (Dream — ოცნება in Georgian);
    — synonyms and semantically similar words should also be checked (Big father — Big dad).
  • Can a multi class trademark application be filed in Georgia?
    Yes, according to the legislation of Georgia you may file trademark applications with indication of any desired number of classes of the Nice Classification. Still please note that the amount of official fees depends on the number of classes.
  • What is the cost of a trademark registration?
    The cost of a trademark registration in Georgia depends on the number of classes in which the registration is required. Please contact us for more detailed information.
  • Can a trademark registration procedure be accelerated in Georgia?
    Yes, a trademark registration procedure may be accelerated by ordering corresponding service in the Trademark Office. Thus, the Trademark Office will examine an application in a short time frame, namely within approximately one month. If the there are no grounds for refusal, the trademark is registered, published and the certificate is issued.
  • What is a non-use cancellation?
    According to the legislation of Georgia, a third party may file a request for cancellation of a mark that has not been used by the holder for any period of five consecutive years after registration.
  • How many times can a trademark be renewed in Georgia?
    Trademarks in Georgia may be renewed every 10 years as many times as needed upon payment of corresponding fee.

Please contact us for more information about trademark registration or quotation for filing and prosecution of a trademark application in Georgia.


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Tbilisi

49/51/51 a, Tsereteli Ave.
Off. 7, Tbilisi, 0159
Georgia/Sakartvelo

Fax: +995 (32) 272 22 28

Email: office@msp.ge