Kyrgyzstan seeks to speed up trademark registration

Kyrgyzstan is considering an overhaul of how trademarks, geographical indications and appellations of origin are registered, with a new option for applicants seeking a faster decision.

Under the draft law, applicants could request an expedited trademark examination after paying the required fee. The explanatory note says the process should take up to four months. The proposal would still protect earlier priority rights: if an application with an earlier priority is later filed for an identical or confusingly similar mark covering related goods, the registration granted through the accelerated process would be cancelled.

The draft would also give the Cabinet authority to set the deadlines for preliminary examinations and the examination of filed designations. Its developers say the change would make procedures more flexible and help them adapt more quickly to digital services and administrative practice.

A large part of the proposal focuses on digitization. Registration information for trademarks, well-known trademarks, geographical indications and appellations of origin would be published on the authorized agency’s official website instead of in an official bulletin. The bill would also establish a state electronic register.

The proposal seeks to expand the institutions eligible to register regional brands. District state administrations and айыл окмоту, or local village administrations, would join associations and unions as eligible applicants for geographical indications and appellations of origin. The developers say this could encourage regional branding in areas where producer associations do not exist or no longer function effectively. Special emblems could also be used alongside words for geographical indications and appellations of origin.