The Burundi Law No. 1/13 of July 28, 2009 relating to Industrial Property (the 2009 Law) requires the renewal of registered trade marks for consecutive ten-year periods and provides a grace period of six months for the late renewal of a trade mark. If the trade mark is not renewed, its registration becomes invalid and may not be restored.
Prior to the entry into force of the 2009 Law on 28th July 2009, trade marks were registered for indefinite periods without the requirement for renewal. Though the 2009 Law has transitional provisions, the same are silent on the renewal due date for trade marks registered before the enactment of the 2009 Law. This can be distinguished from the Rwanda Law No. 31/2009 of 26/10/2009 on Intellectual Property which expressly states that the trade marks registered under the Repealed law should be renewed within ten years of the entry into force of the Law.
Though the Burundi office has been taking applications for renewal of trade marks registered under the Repealed law having provided informal clarification on the renewal due date, on 8th February, 2017 the Director of Industrial Property issued official communication confirming the current practice. The Director indicated that all trade marks registered before the entry into force of the 2009 Law must be renewed before 28th July, 2019, being ten years from the entry into force of the 2009 Law.
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