In Brief

The **Trademark Act (Law No. 19/2025)** was ratified by the President and published in the Government Gazette on **11th November 2025**. This milestone law replaces the historical local frameworks, introducing an internationally aligned, formal registration structure compliant with the Paris Convention and World Trade Organisation (WTO) principles.

Crucially, for the first time in Maldivian legal history, the Act permits **foreign individuals and entities to obtain direct local trademark protection** without requiring an existing local corporate presence or separate foreign investment approval.

Relevant Enforcement Authorities

The Act splits operational oversight between three distinct state departments:

Key Substantive Provisions

Registration Rules & Priority Rights

• First-to-File Basis: Trademarks are allocated purely on a “first-to-file” chronological sequence rather than prior unrecorded local usage.
• Owner Rights: Registered owners gain full statutory authority to block unauthorized third parties from using identical or confusingly similar signs on matched or similar goods/services in trade.
• International Priority: Applicants who hold matching active filings inside any member country of the Paris Convention or WTO can claim formal priority status in the Maldives, provided the local claim is submitted within six months of the foreign filing date.

Examination, Refusal, and Opposition

• Three-Month Opposition Window: Once MIPO examines and tentatively accepts an application, it is published. Any interested third party holds a strict three-month window from the publication date to file a formal notice of opposition.
• Absolute Grounds for Refusal: Registrations will be rejected if the mark lacks distinctiveness, is purely descriptive/generic of time/place/quality, consists purely of an inherent product shape, violates public morality, or features unauthorized state emblems. Marks that have demonstrably acquired distinctiveness through continuous local use may be considered for registration.
• Relative Grounds for Refusal: Refusal triggers apply if a mark conflicts with an existing registered asset, a pending application, a well-known international mark (even on dissimilar items where confusion or unfair association is likely), an active local unregistered mark used in good faith for at least six months, or if it violates copyright/design rights or was filed in bad faith.

Term, Renewal, and Management

• 10-Year Tenure: Registrations remain valid for ten years from the date of initial registration.
• Grace Period: Owners may apply for standard renewals in 10-year increments. If standard renewal lapses before expiration, an extended six-month grace window is available, subject to additional late-filing administrative penalties. If left unrenewed after six months, the file lapses permanently.
• Assignments & Licensing: Ownership transfers or commercial licensing arrangements must be recorded and published by the Registrar to hold legal effect against third-party claims.
• Special Classifications: Provisions cover Certification Marks (certifying build parameters or characteristics, though owners cannot use them on their own products) and Collective Marks (distinguishing cooperative/association member items). Licensing out collective marks is explicitly prohibited under the Act.

Enforcement & Remedies

Civil Remedies

Rights-holders can petition the courts for substantial civil remedies, including:

• Interim injunctions to immediately halt distribution.
• Judicial orders demanding the absolute destruction or removal of offending stock from the market.
• Monetary compensation awards and structural disclosures compelling infringers to expose supply chains.
• Statute of Limitations: Claims must be legally initiated within five years from the date the trademark owner first became aware of the infringement.

Criminal Offenses & Penalties

Counterfeiting, importing, exporting, or trading counterfeit marks or items constitutes a severe criminal offense. Courts hold power to confiscate and destroy inventory or manufacturing machinery alongside issuing hefty administrative fines ranging from MVR 100,000 to MVR 2,000,000.