Overview of Trademarks in Afghanistan

As a general guide, please find some information as follows.

This country has adopted the latest edition (8th edition) of the International classification of goods and services i.e. 45 classes. Thus both trademarks and service marks are registrable.

Procedure:

Once the Power of Attorney (duly legalized) is received, it is taken to the Ministry of foreign Affairs for local legalization/authentication. Then, the said Power is presented to the Court for acceptance to act on behalf of the applicant. The application form is then filed with payment of the relevant fees and the Court issues the filing number and date. Upon acceptance, the publication is made in the official gazette for opposition purposes. If no opposition is received, the registration fee is paid and a second publication takes place. The certificate of registration is finally issued. This process normally takes between 3 – 12 months.

The protection term is 10 years from filing date and renewable at similar intervals. Renewal is possible before nine months of the expiry date.

The filing requirements are as follows;

New Applications

• Power of Attorney – to be signed, notarized and legalized Power of Attorney – to be signed, notarized and legalized
Power of Attorney – to be signed, notarized and legalized
• Name, Address, activity and Status of Applicant
• 15 prints of the mark plus 1 printing block
• List of Goods/Services
• International Classification

Renewals

• Power of Attorney – to be signed, notarized and legalized
• Photocopy of the certificate of registration or if renewed, the photocopy of the previous certificate of renewal

Assignment/Merger

• Power of Attorney – to be signed, notarized and legalized
• Deed of Assignment/Merger – to be executed by both parties and legalized
  

Change of Name &/or Address

• Power of Attorney – to be signed, notarized and legalized
• Certified copy of the Certificate of change of name &/ or address – to be legalized
  
  Unfortunately, no laws exist for registration of Patents. The present practice is to publish a cautionary notice.
  
  Legalization – At present, many clients may face difficulty in obtaining legalization from Afghanistan consulate therefore we would handle the legalization process at reasonable cost. In that case, the documents must be notarized and legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Kindly note that the Power of Attorney can be filed late without any additional charges.
  
  Prints – In case, you are submitting the same via email (jpeg format), then only one clear copy would suffice for filing. The original prints (15 prints) should be sent later via airmail or courier.
  
  Printing Block – We shall prepare these at our end at a reasonable cost. This is normally included in our filing fees.
  
  We hope the above information is useful. You are most welcome to contact us for any further clarifications or request more information/schedule of fees.
  
  We look forward to being of service to you in the near future.