LEGAL BASIS

• Law on Industrial Property No. 9947, dated July 7, 2008, in force since February 15, 2009, as amended.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since October 4, 1995.
• Patent Cooperation Treaty, since February 2, 1996.
• European Patent Convention, since May 1, 2010.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (no legalization);
• Specification (including description and claims), 2 copies for translation into Albanian;
• Drawings, 3 copies;
• Priority document, if priority is claimed, to be filed upon request of the Patent Office.

REMARKS

National Phase of PCT: under Chapter I: 31 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.

LEGAL BASIS

• Law on Industrial Property No. 9947, dated July 7, 2008, in force since February 15, 2009, as amended.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since October 4, 1995.
• Madrid Agreement, since October 4, 1995.
• Madrid Protocol, since July 30, 2003.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (no legalization);
• Prints of the sign to be protected (10);
• Priority Document, if any.

REMARKS

Kinds of protection: a trademark may be any sign, in particular words, including personal names or designs, letters, numbers, colors, the form of goods or their packaging, or sounds, provided that those signs are capable of (a) distinguishing the goods or services of a natural or legal person from those of another natural or legal person; (b) being represented in the Register in such a way as to enable the competent authorities and the public to determine clearly and accurately the object of protection recognized to its owner.
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 by any interested party during the entire period of validity through a request to the Chamber for cancellation/invalidation or in court.

LEGAL BASIS

• Law of Industrial Property No. 9947, dated July 7, 2008, in force since February 15, 2009, as amended.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since October 4, 1995.
• Hague Agreement, Stockholm Act, since March 19, 2007, and Geneva Act, since May 19, 2007.

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 trademarks).

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.