Trade marks and designs

Trade marks

Act No. 506/2009 Coll. on Trademarks, as amended, establishes the conditions for the so-called registration eligibility of a trade mark.

A trademark may be a word, pictorial, spatial, positional sign, a sign of a design, a sign consisting of a single colour or a combination of colours without outlines, a sound sign, a movement sign, a multimedia sign, a holographic sign or any other sign which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from the goods or services of another person. The law also specifies in detail the exclusions of signs from registration and the signs that cannot be trade marks. These include, for example, signs that lack distinctive character, signs containing the names of states, indications of the type of goods or services, well-known geographical indications, deceptive signs, signs containing the older name of a registered plant variety.
Likewise, a sign against which a reasoned objection has been lodged by an authorised person shall not be entered in the register.

Any legal or natural person may apply for registration of a trade mark.

The registration of a trade mark shall be valid for 10 years from the date of filing of the trade mark application. At the request of the proprietor of the trade mark or the pledgee, the Office shall renew the registration of the trade mark, on payment of the administrative fee, for a further period of 10 years.

Four reasons to protect intellectual property - Trade marks

1. Product identification
2. increase protection against counterfeiting
3. image and reputation building
4. Stabilising market position