General Information | Patents of Invention
Trade & Service Marks | Industrial Designs | Domain Names
More

General Information

Area: 28,000 sq. km.
Population: 3,619,778 inhabitants (estimated 2008).
Capital: Tirana, with about 700,000 inhabitants.
Language: Albanian.
Currency: Leka.

GENERAL REMARKS

Albania's former Communists were routed in parliamentary elections in March 1992 amid economic collapse and social unrest.

TOP OF PAGE

Patents of Invention

LEGAL BASIS

• Law on Industrial Property, in force since February 15, 2009.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since July 4, 1995.
• Patent Cooperation Treaty, since February 2, 1996.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (no legalization);
• Specification with claims and abstracts, two copies for translation into Albanian;
• Drawings 3 copies, if any;
• Priority Document, if priority is claimed, to be filed upon request of the Patent Office.

REMARKS

National Phase of PCT: under Chapter I: 30 months; under Chapter II: 31 months.
Validity: patent issued after formal examination only - valid for 10 years; after furnishing the examination report issued by a recognized authority, valid for 20 years.
Annuities: are due each year after grant.
Opposition: can be filed with the Board of Appeal within nine months from the date of grant.

TOP OF PAGE

Trade and Service Marks

LEGAL BASIS

• Law on Industrial Property, in force since February 15, 2009.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since July 4, 1995.
• Madrid Agreement concerning the International Registration of Marks, since October 4, 1995.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (no legalization);
• Prints of the sign to be protected (10);
• List of goods and services, according to the International Classification;
• A declaration including all pertinent data concerning the priority, if any.

REMARKS

Kinds of protection: any sign capable of graphic representation is registrable, including personal and company names, designs, letters and numerals, abbreviations, product shape and packings, signs of apparatus: combination of their colors, any combination of the above signs, sound and light signals.
Classification: International.
Obligation to use the registered mark: compulsory. If not used within any five-year period after the registration (or last use) date, the mark can be cancelled upon request of an interested party; nominal use (advertising, publications) is accepted in absence of actual use.
Duration – renewals: 10-year period after the filing date or last renewal date.
Opposition: provided for published applications, within a three-month period; a registered trademark can be cancelled during the entire period of validity through a court action filed by any interested party.

TOP OF PAGE

Industrial Designs

LEGAL BASIS

• Law of Industrial Property of July 8, 1994.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since July 4, 1995.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney, no legalization;
• Drawings, scheme or sample;
• Description of the design;
• A declaration including all pertinent data concerning the priority, if any.

REMARKS

Duration – renewals: after formal examination: 5 years. Renewable up to 25 years.
Opposition: provided (as for patents).

TOP OF PAGE

Domain Names

LEGAL BASIS

• There is no specific legislation on country code top-level domain names.

FILING

• ccTLD: .al
• Applicant: Albanian organizations and foreign organizations having a legal representative in Albania.
• Local Presence: required.

REMARKS

Duration – renewals: two years, renewable for further two years.
Uniform dispute resolution procedure: none.

TOP OF PAGE

More

If you wish more detailed information concerning intellectual property protection in this territory please contact us or order Katzarov’s Manual on Industrial Property®.

TOP OF PAGE