The arrival of Myanmar's IP laws is taking longer than hoped. The drafting of the trademark law has taken several years and has now reached the 11th version! It has yet to be signed into law by the President, and the expectation is that it is perhaps a year away.
Many have contributed. WIPO has been heavily involved. So too INTA, who sent a delegation there just a few weeks ago.
One of the first jobs will be to set up the Myanmar Trademark Office. After some discussion it appears there will be two branches, one on the capital Napyidaw and one both Yangon, the commercial centre. There is some relief about this from those who worried about long journeys up country to Napyidaw!
Existing trademarks already deposited at the Registry of Deeds under the old trademark system, will be grandfathered in, so will keep their earlier priority dates. Under the new law Myanmar becomes first to file. As such best practice is to file now, to avoid conflicts later.
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