19 August 2024

A new Intellectual Property Law has come into force in Rwanda, which sees a positive change in the intellectual property landscape in this country.

Law no. 055/2024 on the Protection of Intellectual Property was published and came into force on 31 July 2024, repealing the previous 2009 law. However, there will still be a 6-month transition period from this date during which orders made under the repealed law remain in force, provided they are not inconsistent with the new law.

While the new law contains provisions that streamline and clarify aspects relating to other forms of intellectual property as well, the most significant trade mark-related changes brought about by the new law include the following:

• Where the formality requirements for the registration of a trade mark have not been met, the Rwandan Registry will issue a notice giving the applicant an opportunity to meet the formalities requirements within 14 days from the day of notification (this previously 7 days under the old law). Should the applicant then comply with the formalities, the filing date of the application will be the date of fulfilling the formality requirements at the Registry. Alternatively, should the applicant fail to comply with the formality requirements within this period, the application will be deemed to have been withdrawn.
• Several requirements for registering a trade mark have been provided for in the new law, which provides clarification and ensures that the distinctiveness of a mark is no longer a grey area. The new provisions include that a mark cannot be registered if the application is descriptive, made in bad faith or if the application is an act of unfair competition, imitative of a well-known trade mark or an earlier identical or similar trade mark which is likely to cause confusion to consumers, or if it is misleading to consumers (for example on geographical grounds).
• The new law also clarifies aspects of International Trademark Registrations in terms of the Madrid system, and expressly states that the Registry is mandated to notify the applicant of a provisional refusal through WIPO’s International Bureau within 12 months. Should the Registry fail to notify the International Bureau of their decision within 12 months, the trade mark application is deemed to have been accepted.
• Further, the new law includes provisions on the conversion of cancelled International Trademark Registrations, where the owner of the cancelled International Registration may file an application for the registration of the same mark as a national application instead. The national application will benefit from the same priority date of the cancelled international application. In order for this conversion to be successful, the application must be filed within 3 months from the date on which the International Registration was cancelled, the goods and services listed in the application must be the same as those contained in the International Registration and the application must comply with the requirements for filing a new trade mark application in terms of the national law.

• From a trade mark protection and enforcement perspective, the new law also provides that an applicant is granted the same rights and privileges as if a trade mark was registered within the window from publication until registration, unless the application is withdrawn following a successful opposition.

These changes are welcomed and will surely provide the applicants of trade mark applications and the agents of such trade mark applications alike, with more certainty on the IP landscape in Rwanda. These changes also emphasize the need for reasonable change in any legal system, where clarification is needed but also where the legal landscape is an evolving one, such as in that of intellectual property law.