We have a significant practice in all areas of trademark, including domestic and foreign trademark prosecution, trademark clearance and other counseling issues, licensing and enforcement of trademark and litigation. Huge numbers of clients rely upon Rabin to handle their trademark prosecution matters before the Afghanistan Patent & Trademark Office (APTO). These matters range from basic applications to complex issues. Rabin ranks the best place among other agencies in Afghanistan. Through our foreign associates, we are able to provide our clients with efficient and expedient trademark protection in many countries.
Our trademark professionals include experienced lawyers and have experience in filing and prosecuting trademark applications in Afghanistan.
On the counseling front, Rabin manages sophisticated trademark search and clearance projects and advises clients on a wide range of substantive issues.
In addition to helping clients to secure their trademark rights, Rabin actively protects and enforces those rights through traditional trademark and unfair competition suits. The firm’s lawyers have extensive experience before the courts and the Afghanistan Trademark Office. Rabin has represented trademark owners in emergency litigation, infringement and unfair competition actions, anti-counterfeiting, licensing disputes and oppositions to trademark applications.
In trademark disputes, our lawyers represent clients in administrative and judicial proceedings in establishing and enforcing or challenging trademark rights, including dilution claims.
We’re able to monitor the official gazettes published on monthly basis by the Afghanistan Trademark Office, notify our clients of the publication of potentially conflicting trademarks, and will oppose them if authorized by the clients.
General Information
Legal Basis
Trademark Law of Afghanistan September 1, 2009 & its amendments of March 16, 2015.
Afghanistan is a member of the Paris Convention and the Singapore Treaty as of May 14, 2017.
Classification
The latest edition of Nice classification is applicable in Afghanistan.
Exception: There is no trademark protection for alcoholic beverages included in class 33.
Any pictures or other signs which are contrary to the public order or supposed to be immoral are not registerable.
Trademarks, Service marks, Collective marks & 3D marks are registerable in Afghanistan.
Proceeding of Trademark Registration
The application is filed at the Afghanistan Patent & Trademark Office (APTO).
Multi-class application is not acceptable in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is a member of Paris convention and claiming of priority is possible under the Paris Convention.
The application process includes a formal examination, an examination of distinctiveness and a search for prior trademarks.
Trademark applications accepted by the Registrar are published in the official gazette prior to registration and approximate time frame for completion of trademark registration is 7-9 months.
Validity Period
A trademark registration is valid for 10 years from date of application and the registration is renewable for periods of 10 years.
There is no any provision for grace period in the Trademark Law of Afghanistan. Earlier the trademark department had allowed a 6 month grace period from the expiration date but this practice ended on December 2017. Therefore, owner of a trademark registration has to apply for renewal of its trademark registration before expiration of the registration; otherwise, it will not be renewable.
Use Requirements
A registered trademark may be subject for a cancellation by any interested party if it has not been used for a period of 3 consecutive years.
Required Documents
A power of attorney duly notarized and legalized up to the Afghanistan consulate.
All the documents filed at the APTO must be accompanied with a certified local language (Dari or Pashto) translation.
Opposition Period
Objection to registration of a trademark must be filed no later than 21 working days from the date of publication of the trademark application in the official gazette.
Cancellation action against a registered trademark must be filed no later than one year from the date of registration of the trademark and well-known trademarks are exceptional from this provision.
The cancellation action has to be filed before the Primary Commercial Court (PCC).