Following our previous article regarding the commencement of soft opening period in Myanmar, we are pleased to inform that the same has been launched with effect from October 1, 2020, although the official fee has not been announced. The soft opening period is expected to last for a period of six (6) months i.e. till March 31, 2021, thereby allowing existing trademark holders to re-file applications for their marks(s).
紧接我们上次的文章，关于缅甸新商标法过渡期，已于2020年10月1日启动，尽管相关官费和委托书的要求仍未公布。过渡期将持续至2021年3月31日，长达6个月，允许现有注册商标持有人对其商标进行重报，并要求优先权日期。
a. The Myanmar IP Office is accepting the following types of new-applications/ re-filing under the soft opening period:
b. Trademark applications based on Declaration of Use registered with Registrar of Deeds before October 01, 2020; or
c. Trademark applications for the marks already in use in Myanmar subject to submission of concrete evidence of use (such as class and list of goods/services, tax receipt showing use of the mark, evidence of promotional activities featuring the mark, evidence of actual use of the mark in Myanmar and any other documents showing any use of the mark)a. 过渡期内，缅甸知识产权局接受以下类型的商标新申请或重报：b. 根据旧法刊登制度在2020年10月1日之前已经注册的商标；或c. 已经在缅甸使用的商标，在提交新申请时必须向官方提供实际使用证据（如商品/服务类别和具体项目、显示商标使用的税收收据、带有商标图样的广告宣传活动材料、商标在缅甸实际使用的证据，以及其他证明商标在使用的文件和材料）。
With respect to the Power of Attorney and the Official fee under the new law, the same have not been announced yet and are likely to be informed around the Grand Opening Date of April 1, 2021. For re-filing the trademark during the soft-opening period (not renewal under the old regime), requirements are indicated as follows:a. Specimen of the trademarks in JPG. file with resolution at least 300DPI;b. Scanned copy of Recorded Declaration of Trademark Ownership;c. Scanned copy of the Trademark Notice posted in Newspapers and other evidences of use (if any);d. Company registration number and Legal Entity Type of the applicant;e. If the trademark contains any words other than English or Burmese language, their transliteration and translation are required.关于新法制度下的官费和委托书的具体要求，官方尚未公布相关细节，但有望在“过渡期”结束后的“开幕式”（grand opening）宣布，即2021年4月1日前后。关于过渡期内的商标重报（不同于旧法刊登制下的续展），相关要求如下：a. 清晰的商标图样（JPG格式），像素至少300DPI以上；b. 之前的商标注册证书（即商标所有权声明书）扫描件；c. 商标在缅甸当地报纸刊登的通知文件及其他使用证据的扫描件（若有）；e. 如果商标包含英语或缅甸语以外的其他字词，则需提交其音译和翻译。This is only a preliminary step and will not be considered as completion of filing formalities. In case the Myanmar Intellectual Property Department makes notifications on this matter, the official fees, Form TM2 and other additional documents will have to be submitted, which we will inform later once the same announced.这仅仅是一个初步的步骤，并不能视为满足了商标申请的全部形式要求。一旦缅甸知识产权发布通知，申请人将需要缴纳官费，并提交TM2表格及其他相关文件。我们将在官方通知发布后进行及时更新。
Please note that all the applications for re-registration of the marks filed during the soft opening period from October 01, 2020 until March 31, 2021 will have the same application date i.e. the grand opening date of April 01, 2021.需注意的是，所有在过渡期内（2020年10月1日至2021年3月31日）重报的商标，将具有相同的申请日期，即2021年4月1日 “开幕式”（grand opening）开始之日。Regarding the other trademarks which filed before October 1, 2020, they will be eligible to be re-filed during the soft-opening.对于2020年10月1日之前已经提交但尚未注册的商标申请，仍可在注册后、并在过渡期内进行重报。As for trademarks filed after October 1, 2020, due to the second wave of the COVID-19 global pandemic that is currently affecting Myanmar, a “Stay at Home” order was issued by the Ministry of Health and Sports. Consequently, the Office of Registrar of Deeds in Yangon, Myanmar has been forced to be closed. In addition, up to now, the Department of Intellectual Property still has not announced the cutoff date for the registered Declaration of Ownership. It is supposed that they will accept the registered Declaration of Ownerships which filed after October 1, 2020 for re-filing under the soft-opening period. However, there is not yet the official announcement about the above matter. We will be able to confirm this after an announcement is made by the Department of Intellectual Property.对于2020年10月1日之后提交的新商标申请，由于第二波COVID-19正在影响缅甸，卫生和体育部（the Ministry of Health and Sports.）发布命令要求所有市民“待在家里”（“Stay at Home” order）。因此，缅甸商标局亦被迫关闭。此外，到目前为止，缅甸知识产权局仍未宣布旧法商标所有权声明刊登的截止日期。我们认为，2020年10月1日之后提交并完成注册的商标仍会被承认并可在过渡期内进行重报。但有关此事的官方通知尚未发布，我们会在收到官方通知后再确认这一点。We will closely monitor the development about the enforcement of the new trademark law (e.g. the form of required document, exact fee for re-filing) in Myanmar and update in a timely manner.
我们会实时关注缅甸新商标法的更多实施细则并及时公布。
上篇文章：缅甸新商标法：过渡期将于2020年10月1日开始
