Newsletter, Issue 03/2018

To keep you up-to-date with the latest economic and financial developments, this newsletter prepared by our Team provides information that may affect the operation of your business in Albania.

The Council of Ministers has recently approved the "Regulation on Trademarks" which entered into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette No. 82 dated 6 June 2018.

The regulation aims to implement and define in detail the specific issues provided by law no. 9947, dated 07.07.2008, "On Industrial Property", as amended, with regard to trademark procedures followed by the General Directory of Industrial Property (GDPI).

One of the novelties is that the regulation establishes that the GDPI may now conduct a trademark research not only based on "word" elements but also on "figurative" elements. In this way, the overlapping of the same or similar brands in the Register of the GDPI may be avoided.

The Council of Ministers has approved the "Regulation on Authorized Representatives of the General Directory of Industrial Property" which entered into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette No. 82 dated 6 June 2018.

Subject to the regulation, the authorized representatives of industrial property are classified in:

Representatives of Patents and Utility Models; Representatives of Trademarks, Geographical Indications and Industrial Designs. An authorized representative may also be any former employee of the GDPI with no less than three (3) years of work experience in the industrial property issues at the GDPI.

The regulation provides that representation in GDPI is done by natural and legal persons who are registered in the register of authorized representatives, held by the GDPI. Natural and legal persons that are not resident in the territory of the Republic of Albania and intending to apply for industrial property matters with GDPI should appoint their representative on industrial property issues such as trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs and patents that will represent them during the procedures with the GDPI.

The regulation sets out rules and criteria for exercising the activity of the authorized representative.

The Council of Ministers approved some amendments and additions to the decision no. 883, dated 13.05.2009 of the Council of Ministers "On approval of the...