Kyrgyzstan seeks to speed up trademark registration

Kyrgyzstan has put forward draft legislation that would allow applicants to seek faster trademark registration by paying a prescribed fee. The explanatory note says an expedited examination could take up to four months.

The proposal would still protect earlier priority rights. If an expedited registration covered an identical or confusingly similar designation for similar goods, and an application with an earlier priority were later filed, the expedited registration would be cancelled.

The draft would give the Cabinet of Ministers authority to set deadlines for preliminary examination and examination of proposed designations. Its developers say that would make the system more flexible and easier to adapt to digital services and administrative practices.

A major part of the changes concerns digitalization. Information on trademarks, well-known trademarks, geographical indications and appellations of origin would be published on the website of the authorized state body rather than in the official bulletin. The legislation would also establish a state electronic register.

The proposal seeks to broaden access to regional branding. District state administrations and aiyl okmotu would join associations and unions in holding the right to register geographical indications and appellations of origin. The developers say this could encourage regional brands in places where producer associations do not exist or function effectively. The draft would also allow special emblems to accompany the verbal names of geographical indications and appellations of origin.