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

Area: 488,100 sq. km.
Population: 5,700,000 inhabitants (estimated mid-2002).
Capital: Ashgabad, with about 900,000 inhabitants.
Languages: Turkmen (official), Russian.
Currency: Manat.

GENERAL REMARKS

Turkmenistan used to be part of the former Soviet Union. The republic declared its independence on October 27, 1991. The Patent Office of Turkmenistan (Turkmenpatent) was established in December 1993. Turkmenistan is a Neutral State; so declared officially by U.N.O. on December 12, 1995.
The term for re-registration of former Soviet Union Industrial property rights, applied for prior to October 1, 1993, expired in Turkmenistan on July 1, 1996.

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Patents of Invention

LEGAL BASIS

• Patent Law, a draft passed on October 1, 1993 (a new law is expected soon).

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since March 1, 1995, with effect as of December 25, 1991.
• PCT, since March 1, 1995.
• Eurasian Patent Convention, since August 12, 1995.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (no legalization);
• Specification, claims and abstract (if not available in Russian, preferably in English);
• Drawings;
• Priority document, if priority is claimed, to be filed within three months from the filing date.

REMARKS

National Phase of PCT: under Chapter I: 30 months; under Chapter II: 31 months.
Validity: Provisional Patent (if full examination is not requested): issued after formal examination - valid for five years as of the filing date. Patent: issued after the full examination - valid for 20 years.
Annuities: are accumulated and paid with the granting fee, and for subsequent years, on the anniversary of the filing date (or International filing date for PCT).
Opposition: possible during the entire term of protection, through the Patent Office Appeal Board.

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Trade and Service Marks

LEGAL BASIS

• Patent Law, of October 1, 1993 (a first Trademark Law is expected soon).

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since March 1, 1995, with effect as of December 25, 1991.
• Madrid Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement for the International Registration of Marks, since September 15, 1999.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (no legalization);
• Prints of the sign to be protected (20);
• List of goods and services, according to the International Classification; one application may include goods belonging to more than one International Class (to be translated into Turkmen or Russian);
• Priority document, if any (to be filed within three months from the filing date).

REMARKS

Kinds of protection: trademarks and service marks (wordmarks, device marks and combinations thereof). Besides the original version, filing of wordmark applications in the Cyrillic alphabet is highly recommended, the Russian language still being one of the official languages in the country.
Classification: International.
Obligation to use the registered mark: not compulsory, but recommended in practice.
Duration - renewals: 10-year period after the registration or last renewal date.
Opposition: not provided for.

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Industrial Designs

LEGAL BASIS

• Patent Law, of October 1, 1993 (a new law is expected soon).

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since March 1, 1995.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney, no legalization;
• Photographs and drawings;
• Specification of the design (if not in Russian, preferably in English);
• Priority document (if any).

REMARKS

Duration - renewals: provisional, after formal examination: 5 years; full, after complete examination: 10 years from the filing date. Renewable for one additional period of 5 years.
Opposition: possible during the entire term of protection, through the Patent Office Appeal Board.

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Domain Names

LEGAL BASIS

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

FILING

• ccTLD: .tm
• Applicant: must be a resident/legal entity in the country of Turkmenistan.
• Local Presence: required.

REMARKS

Duration - renewals: one year, renewable.
Uniform dispute resolution procedure: available before WIPO Arbitration and mediation Center.

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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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