Myanmar’s State Administration Council has specified the enforcement date of the country’s 2019 Trademark Law as April 1, 2023—confirming a recent announcement from Myanmar’s Intellectual Property Department (IPD) to certified trademark representatives in the country. The official public announcement came in Notification No. 82/2023, which was dated March 10, 2023, and published in the government-owned daily newspaper the following day. The planned next step is the promulgation of the Trademark Rules to establish substantive procedures on trademark-related matters for trademark applications under the new system. The rules, which are necessary to establish procedures for collecting official fees, are expected to be issued in March 2023. Once the Trademark Rules are established and the Trademark Law comes into force, the second phase of the IPD’s “soft opening” period will commence—expected to occur on April 3, 2023, if there are no further changes. In this second phase, mark owners can pay the official fees for trademark applications filed within the first phase of the soft opening. According to IPD officials, marks recorded under Myanmar’s old system or used in the country can still be filed together with payment during the soft opening’s second phase, either in person by the mark owner or through a certified representative via the online system. Even if such a previously recorded mark is registered after April 1, 2023, the application during the second phase can still reserve the earliest possible filing date under the new first-to-file system. This second phase will continue until the “grand opening” of the IPD commences, unless officials make further announcements to the contrary. IPD officials have confirmed that the earliest possible filing date of the new system will be the date of the IPD’s grand opening. In light of the ongoing and planned developments, the grand opening is expected to occur

On March 9, 2023, Myanmar’s Intellectual Property Department (IPD) informed the country’s certified trademark representatives that the Trademark Law enacted in 2019 is set be enforced on April 1, 2023. A written notification about the effective date of the Trademark Law is expected soon. [Update: The official announcement is contained in Notification No. 82/2023, which was dated March 10, 2023, and published in the government-owned daily newspaper the following day.] The Trademark Rules, which are necessary to establish procedures for collecting official fees, are expected to be issued in March 2023. Once the Trademark Rules are set up and the Trademark Law comes into force, the official fees will be announced by a separate notification, as will the start of the second phase of the “soft opening” period. This second phase is expected to commence on April 3, 2023. In this phase, mark owners can pay the official fees for trademark applications filed within the first phase of the soft opening. In the meantime, the marks recorded under Myanmar’s old system or used in the country can still be filed together with payment during the soft opening’s second phase—either in person by the mark owner or through a certified representative via the online system. This second phase will continue until Ministry of Commerce (MOC) officials announce the “grand opening” of the IPD, which they hope to achieve in 2023. The IPD officials added that applications can now be submitted together with the notarized appointment of representative form that was issued by the MOC for appointing a representative for trademark matters. Any other requests, such as those for amendment, assignment, or change of representative, still need to wait for the IPD’s grand opening. While subsequent rules and announcements are expected soon, owners of existing marks should consider refiling these marks

On January 12, 2023, Myanmar’s Intellectual Property Department (IPD) announced that the country’s Trademark Law enacted in 2019 is set be enforced in March 2023. While an official notification specifying the effective date of the Trademark Law has not yet been issued, this significant announcement by the IPD indicates the impending implementation of the new trademark framework and alerts mark owners to make the necessary preparations to secure trademark protection in Myanmar under the new legal regime. The announcement confirms that trademark registrations, and the procedures for accepting payments, will commence once the Trademark Law enters into force (assuming there is no significant change from the IPD). Based on the Ministry of Commerce’s order (No. 63/2020) initiating the “soft opening” period, as well as this announcement from the IPD, it is expected that the fees for trademark registration will be issued soon, by a separate notification, before enforcement of the Trademark Law. Subsequently, applicants will be allowed to refile existing marks (recorded under Myanmar’s old system or used in the country), together with payment, up until officials announce the end of the IPD’s soft opening period (i.e., the “grand opening” of the IPD). During this time, existing marks can be refiled with the IPD either in person by the mark owner or online by an IPD-certified local representative. After the announcement of the fees and payment process for trademark registration, all mark owners who had previously filed their existing marks during the soft opening period must also pay the necessary fees for their applications. While subsequent announcements will provide details on exactly how to proceed, owners of marks that qualify to be filed during the IPD’s soft opening period should strongly consider refiling the marks with the IPD as soon as possible—if they have not done so already—to reserve