When registering or operating a business in Liechtenstein it’s very critical that you protect your intellectual property rights and register a trademark.
A trademark is a unique name (and/or image) that marks your identity in the goods and services market, distinguishing you from other entrepreneurs and manufacturers. Unregistered brand markers do not provide any guarantees, which explains why the registration procedure is so important. The registration mark provides an opportunity to protect your intellectual property from counterfeiting and unauthorised use.
Documents for trademark registration in Liechtenstein
In order to file a trademark application you must have the following information:
Name and registered address of the owner (applicant).
Drawing of the trademark, clearly showing colors (if applicable) and each sign.
A list of goods and services with indication of classes to be covered by the mark.
In Liechtenstein, the Office of Economics (Officially: Amt für Volkswirtschaft) is responsible for trademark registration. The Department of Intellectual Property Law deals with legal protection of trademarks and basically takes care of the national registration of trademarks.
Terms of trademark registration in Liechtenstein
The consideration period from application to registration takes approximately 3-4 months, if no objections are received.
When necessary, a first office action will typically take place within 1 month from filing.
After successful registration of the trademark, a publication will be made on the official webpage www.amtsblatt.llv.li
Stages of registration
Before starting to register your trademark, we recommend a preliminary search for similar trademarks already registered in Liechtenstein. This stage will help us to ensure that your mark is unique. Once the trademark has been successfully checked for uniqueness, we can proceed directly to registration.
Registration is carried out by filling out an application for registration, entering all the necessary information, namely: data of the TM owner, name and type of trademark, list of goods and services covered by the trademark with indication of classes in accordance with the International (Nice) Classification of Goods and Services.
After filling in the application form, proceed to pay a fee for filing the application.
The official fee of trademark application is CHF 400 for up to three classes and CHF 50 for each additional class exceeding the third one. No additional registration or publication fee needs to be paid.
Once the application has been filed and the official filing fee has been paid, the application will undergo a formal examination and the essence of the mark applied for registration will be examined. The mark will be registered if, during the examination, no grounds for refusal were found or overcome during the examination.
Why it is profitable to work with SIGTAX
SIGTAX has vast experience in trademarks registration in Liechtenstein. We will help you to understand the specific details that are important for TM registration in an easy and affordable way—and also prepare the application for TM registration for you.
Frequently asked questions:
Q: What types of TM do exist?
A: 1. Word marks - comprises exclusively of printable characters and for which no colour is claimed (words, slogans, letter combinations, number combinations);
2. Figurative marks - comprises exclusively of visual elements;
3. Combined word/figurative marks - consist of words and images, may have a colour claim.
Q: Can I submit one application and choose several classes?
A: Yes, you can submit one application for trademark registration and include several classes according to the International (Nice) Classification of Goods and Services.
Q: Who can be the owner of the trademark?
A: Both a legal entity and an individual may act as a trademark owner.
Q: How many years will the protection of rights last and what should I do at the end of the protection period?
A: Trademark registration is valid for 10 years from the date of filing and may be renewed for subsequent 10 years by filing a renewal application.
Q: Do I need a representative?
A: Foreign applicants who are not Swiss and are not citizens of the European Economic Area must be represented by a local agent.
Add new comment