UGANDA:  A new Act brings about change - Service marks now available

Service mark protection:  a long awaited highlight of the Act

Relevant legislation did not provide for registration of service marks in Uganda.  This situation has now changed as Uganda has assented to a new Act, No. 17 of 2010 (the Act) published in the Official Journal of 3 September 2010.

The 9th Edition of the International Nice Classification system has been adopted and service mark protection can be sought in classes 35 to 45.

Mandatory pre-filing search

There are also other noteworthy changes,  such as the fact that section 5 provides that “A person who intends to apply for the registration of a trademark shall carry out a search to ascertain whether the trademark exists in the register upon payment of a prescribed fee”.  At this early stage it is, however, not clear how the apparent mandatory provision will be enforced. 

Non-use term reduced from 5 years to 3 years

Section 46(1)(b) of the Act provides that “a registered trademark may be removed from the register in respect of goods in respect of which it is registered, on application to the court by an aggrieved person and subject to section 67 on an application to the registrar, on the grounds that  at least one month prior to the date of the application a continuous period of three years or more elapsed during which the trademark was a registered trademark and during which there was no bon-fide use in relation to those goods or services by any owner”.

Please contact Natalia Pereira or Therése Davis in our International Trademarks Department should you have any queries in this respect.