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

Area: 2,700,000 sq. km.
Population: 17,000,000.
Capital: Astana with about 250,000 inhabitants; biggest city, industrial and cultural center: Almaty, with about 1,500,000 inhabitants.
Languages: Kazakh and Russian (as a means of international communication).
Currency: Tenge.

GENERAL REMARKS

Kazakhstan used to be a part of the former Soviet Union. The republic declared its independence on December 16, 1991. The State Patent Office of Kazakhstan was established on June 23, 1992.
Ex-USSR patents may be registered in Kazakhstan until the expiration of twenty years from the filing date in the ex-USSR.

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Patents of Invention

LEGAL BASIS

• Patent Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan in force as of August 21, 1999; amendments of July 9, 2004.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, as of February 16, 1993.
• Patent Cooperation Treaty, as of February 16, 1993.
• Eurasian Patent Convention, as of November 4, 1995.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (no legalization);
• Specification, claims and abstract (may be filed in Kazakh or Russian language, or any other language, whereby the certified Kazakh or Russian translation should be filed within two months from the filing date);
• Drawing, 3 sets;
• Priority certificate, if any.

REMARKS

National Phase of PCT: under Chapter I: 31 months; under Chapter II: 31(33) months.
Validity: Provisional Patent (if full examination is not requested): issued after formal examination - valid for five years as of the filing date, extension for further three years possible. Patent issued after the full examination - valid for 20 years.
Annuities: beginning with the 1st annuity from the filing date (for the provisional patents), or with the 3rd annuity (for patents of invention).
Opposition: provided for.

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Trade and Service Marks

LEGAL BASIS

• Law on Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellation of Origin of the Republic of Kazakhstan, of July 26, 1999, in force as of September 4, 1999; amendments of July 9, 2004.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, as of February 16, 1993.
• Madrid Agreement, as of February 16, 1993.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (no legalization);
• The sign to be protected; 15 prints (max. size: 8 x 8 or 21 x 29,7 cm max.);
• List of goods and services, according to the International classification (to be translated in Kazakh or Russian); one application may include several international classes;
• Priority document, if any (to be filed within two months from the filing date).

REMARKS

Kinds of protection: trade and service marks, wordmarks, device marks and combinations thereof, three-dimensional and sound marks. Besides the original version, filing of wordmark applications in the Cyrillic alphabet is highly recommended, as the Kazakh language uses the Cyrillic alphabet, and Russian still being a parallel language in the country.
Classification: International.
Obligation to use the registered mark: must be used; 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 periods after the filing date or last renewal date.
Opposition: provided for.

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Industrial Designs

LEGAL BASIS

• Patent Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in force since August 21, 1999; amendments of July 9, 2004.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, as of February 16, 1993.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney, no legalization;
• The model itself (or in reduced size), photographs or drawings thereof (3 copies);
• Specification of the model;
• Priority document, if any.

REMARKS

Duration - renewals: after a formal and full examination: 10 years from the filing date; renewable for an additional period of 5 years.
Opposition: not provided for.

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Domain Names

LEGAL BASIS

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

FILING

• ccTLD: .kz
• Applicant: individuals and legal entities.
• Local Presence: not required, but desirable.

REMARKS

Duration - renewals: one year.
Uniform dispute resolution procedure: none, but an administrative procedure other than UDRP is available before Kaznic.

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

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