Myanmar Trademark Law to come into effect 1 April 2023

30 March 2023

On 10 March 2023, the State Administration Council of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar issued Notification No. 82 of 2023 which provides that the country’s Trademark Law will come into effect on 1 April 2023.

This Notification was issued a day after the Myanmar Intellectual Property Department (“IPD”) briefed certified trademark representatives in Myanmar on the enforcement of the new law. The trademark regime is currently in its “soft opening” phase, which began on 1 October 2020, and is set to continue.

The IPD has stated that the new trademark registration system will not be implemented until May or June 2023. The “second phase” of the soft opening period will start on 3 April 2023. It should be noted that applications made during the soft opening period must be supported by a declaration of ownership and/or evidence of use prior to 1 April 2023 - meaning declarations of ownership registered prior to 1 April 2023 and trademarks that have enjoyed use in Myanmar prior to this date.

Fees will be payable from 3 April 2023 for the filing of trademarks. It is expected that the fees will be levied on a per class basis.