News & Resources

July 06, 2006

Amendments to Trademark Law of Georgia entered into force on March 1, 2006

Georgia has amended its laws on the renewal of trademark registrations.

According to the new law, the renewal application could be filed during the last year of the registration. Previously, trademark owners were allowed to file for renewal only during the last 6 months of the registration.

The new law continues to provide a 6-month grace period. Failure to file the renewal application by the end of the 6-month grace period will result in the cancellation and expiration of the registration.

Please note that the new law abolished an additional 6-month term, following the expiration of the 6-month grace period, during which the trademark owners could file a renewal application with a late payment fee.

For more information, please contact Ignacio Lazaro in our Brussels office.

July 26, 2004

Georgia joins Lisbon Agreement

On June 23, 2004, Georgia joined Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration.

The Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration (Lisbon Agreement), with respect to Georgia, will enter into force on September 23, 2004.

In addition to Georgia, the members of the Lisbon Agreement, the so called Lisbon Union, include Algeria, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic, France, Gabon, Haiti, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Serbia & Montenegro, Slovakia, Togo and Tunisia.

The first attempts to harmonize the different approaches and standards that governments used to register geographical indications (Gis) were found in the Paris Convention on trademarks (1883). However, it wasn’t until the 1958 Lisbon Agreement that first elaborate provisions on Gis were presented.