Commercial law and trademarks

A trademark is defined as a word, image, shape or combined mark which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one party from the goods or services of others. These signs are capable of being represented graphically and can consist particularly of words including personal names, letters, numerals, designs, the shape of goods or their packaging, or any combination thereof, provided that the signs are capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one party from the goods or services of others.

Submit an application to the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic. The application can be submitted by an individual or a business, or by a cooperative of individuals or businesses in the case of a collective mark

The application must contain:

• request to register a sign as a trademark, first and last name and address of habitual residence if the registrant is an individual; business name or trading as name and registered office if the registrant is a business
• wording or distinct and reproducible depiction of the sign to be registered; in the event of a three-dimensional sign, a two-dimensional image thereof
• list of the goods or services for which the sign is to be registered as a trademark in the register; the goods or services should be listed according to the International Classification of Goods and Services
• for collective marks, the application must also contain the written contract concluded by all the members of the cooperative and a list of the members of the cooperative that can use the collective mark
• signature of the registrant or the registrant’s representative

Trademarks are valid for ten years from the date the application was lodged with the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic by the owner of the trademark or the pledgee. Trademark registrations can be renewed for another ten years in accordance with a renewal application.