{"id":5791,"date":"2025-12-04T14:50:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T14:50:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.affa.co.id\/global\/?p=5791"},"modified":"2025-12-04T14:50:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T14:50:07","slug":"maldives-adopts-its-first-trademark-act-12-month-transition-period-for-brand-owners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.affa.co.id\/global\/2025\/12\/04\/maldives-adopts-its-first-trademark-act-12-month-transition-period-for-brand-owners\/","title":{"rendered":"Maldives Adopts Its First Trademark Act: 12-Month Transition Period for Brand Owners"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 11 November 2025, the <\/span>President of the Maldives<\/b>, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, ratified the Trademark Bill, which has now been promulgated as the <\/span>Trademark Act (Law No. 19\/2025) <\/b>through publication in the Government Gazette.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Act will enter into force on 11 November 2026, followed by a 12-month transition period for existing Trademark owners who have been relying on cautionary notices. This milestone marks the establishment of the country\u2019s first comprehensive, registration-based Trademark protection system, replacing the long-standing practice of relying on cautionary notice publications.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Key Features of the New Trademark Act<\/b><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. First-to-File System<\/b>
    \n<\/b>Trademark rights will be determined based on the filing date, with examination on both absolute and relative grounds. Additional safeguards are provided for well-known marks.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Term of Protection and Renewal<\/b>
    \n<\/span>Registered Trademarks will be valid for 10 years from the filing or registration date and may be renewed indefinitely in successive 10-year periods.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Transition Requirements for Existing Owners
    \n<\/b>Brand owners currently relying on cautionary notices must file formal Trademark applications within 12 months from 11 November 2026 to maintain uninterrupted protection.<\/li>\n
  4. Strengthened Enforcement Mechanisms
    \n<\/b>The Act equips rights holders with a full suite of enforcement tools, including:<\/p>\n
      \n
    • Civil actions (injunctions, damages, and destruction or removal of infringing goods);<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Criminal penalties for counterfeiting; and<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Customs border measures to block the importation of infringing products.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
    • Issuance of Implementing Regulations
      \n<\/b>Competent authorities are required to publish implementing regulations and guidelines in the Government Gazette within 6 months of the Act taking effect.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

      What Should Businesses Do Now?<\/b><\/p>\n

      Businesses operating in or entering the Maldivian market are advised to:<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Review Your Trademark Portfolio<\/b>
        \n<\/span>Identify Trademarks currently protected only through cautionary notices.<\/span><\/li>\n
      2. Prepare for Re-Registration<\/b>
        \n<\/span>Prepare documentation for filing once the 12-month transition window opens on 11 November 2026 to ensure continuity of protection.<\/span><\/li>\n
      3. Update Internal IP Processes<\/b>
        \n<\/span>Align brand protection and enforcement strategies with the upcoming registration-based regime.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Should you need more information on Trademark registration in the Maldives or other international jurisdictions, contact us through the channels below and get a FREE 15-minute consultation!<\/b><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        \ud83d\udce9 E-Mail<\/span> : trademark@staging.affa.co.id<\/span><\/p>\n

        \ud83d\udcde Book a Call<\/span> : +62 21 83793812<\/span><\/p>\n

        \ud83d\udcac WhatsApp<\/span> : +62 812 87000 889<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        On 11 November 2025, the President of the Maldives, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, ratified the Trademark Bill, which has now been promulgated as the Trademark Act (Law No. 19\/2025) through publication in the Government Gazette.   The Act will enter into force on 11 November 2026, followed by a 12-month transition period for existing Trademark owners…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,102],"tags":[104,145,353,354,355,356,357,35,43,48,51,68,75,76,79,87],"class_list":["post-5791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-intellectual-property","category-trademark","tag-merek-indonesia-bisa","tag-timing-is-everything","tag-indonesia-trademark-registration","tag-overseas-trademark","tag-indonesia-patent-registration","tag-indonesia-industrial-design-registration","tag-indonesia-copyright-registration","tag-trademark","tag-intellectual-property","tag-merek","tag-kekayaan-intelektual","tag-affa","tag-ip","tag-ki","tag-your-ip-is-our-expertise","tag-affa-ipr","category-81","category-102","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.affa.co.id\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.affa.co.id\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.affa.co.id\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.affa.co.id\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.affa.co.id\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5791"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.affa.co.id\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5793,"href":"https:\/\/staging.affa.co.id\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5791\/revisions\/5793"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.affa.co.id\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.affa.co.id\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.affa.co.id\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.affa.co.id\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}