What are the requirements for registration of a trademark under Philippine law?

It is required under the IP Code that the application for the registration of the trademark or service mark shall be in Filipino or in English and shall contain the following:

(a) A request for registration;

(b) The name and address of the applicant;

(c) The name of a State of which the applicant is a national or where he has domicile; and the name of a State in which the applicant has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment, if any;

(d) Where the applicant is a juridical entity, the law under which it is organized and existing;

(e) The appointment of an agent or representative, if the applicant is not domiciled in the Philippines;

(f) Where the applicant claims the priority of an earlier application, an indication of:

i) The name of the State with whose national office the earlier application was filed or if filed with an office other than a national office, the name of that office,

ii) The date on which the earlier application was filed, and

iii) Where available, the application number of the earlier application;

(g) Where the applicant claims color as a distinctive feature of the mark, a statement to that effect as well as the name or names of the color or colors claimed and an indication, in respect of each color, of the principal parts of the mark which are in that color;

(h) Where the mark is a three-dimensional mark, a statement to that effect;

(i) One or more reproductions of the mark, as prescribed in the Regulations;

(j) A transliteration or translation of the mark or of some parts of the mark, as prescribed in the Regulations;

(k) The names of the goods or services for which the registration is sought, grouped according to the classes of the Nice Classification, together with the number of the class of the said Classification to which each group of goods or services belongs; and

(l) A signature by, or other self-identification of, the applicant or his representative.

Is there any other requirement that needs to be complied with in a trademark application?

The IP Code requires the filing of a Declaration of Actual Use, together with proof of such use, within three (3) years from the date of filing of the of the trademark application. This is a mandatory requirement in an application. Otherwise, the application shall be refused or the mark shall be removed from the Register if it was registered in the meantime.

When is the filing date of an application?

The filing date of an application is the date on which the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) received the following indications and elements:

(a) An express or implicit indication that the registration of a mark is sought;

(b) The identity of the applicant;

(d) A reproduction of the mark whose registration is sought;

(e) The list of the goods or services for which the registration is sought;

(f) Payment of the required fee.