Cyprus: Trade Marks (Amendment) Law of 2020 (Law No. 63 (I) of 2020)

June 12, 2020

Cyprus: The Trade Marks (Amendment) Law of 2020 (Law No. 63 (I) of 2020) entered into force on June 12, 2020.

The Law introduces, inter alia, the following amendments to the Trade Marks Law, in order to align with Directive (EU) No. 2015/2436:

(i) Introducing a new definition of trademark to include color, sound, motion, and holographic marks;

(ii) Establishing multi-class trademark applications;

(iii) Extending the trademark registration term from 7 years to 10 years from the filing date;

(iv) Allowing the applicant to divide their application by class prior to registration (in order to, e.g., immediately proceed after office actions or opposition proceedings against other classes);

(v) Amending opposition proceedings by extending the opposition period from two to three months, and incorporating a "cooling off" period of two months to allow parties to reach a friendly settlement;

(vi) Removing the requirement of the filing of a Power of Attorney form in trademark procedures;  and

(vii) Establishing a single fee for the trademark registration process.