The Senate of Kazakhstan approved the ratification of the Treaty on Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin of Goods of the Eurasian Economic Union dated 03.02.2020 (Treaty on the TK EEU) on March 18, 2021.

What does it mean?
The Treaty will become a part of supranational legislation in the sphere of intellectual property and will regulate the regional system of legal protection of trademarks. As soon as the agreement comes into force it will be possible to get a single trademark of Eurasian Economic Union which will be valid on the territories of member countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Belarus, Russia).

What does the treaty stipulate?
- the possibility of transformation of the national application into the application for a trademark of the EEU, provided the convention priority is observed;
- any person may file an opposition to the registration of the EEU trademark within 3 months from the date of publication of the application;
- possibility of replacement of national registrations in each member country in the name of the same right holder;
- possibility of transformation of the EEU trademark into the national application with the same priority date;
- maintenance of the uniform register of the EEU trademarks, etc.

How does it work?
An applicant files an application for registration of a trademark in any national patent office of intellectual property of the member countries of the EEU (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Belarus, Russia). Then the office within a month conducts a formal examination of the application for trademark. If it is successful, the application is published on the EEU website and is sent to the national patent offices of other EEU member states. Examination in each national office is held within six months. Decision about registration is made only in case of positive decisions of all national offices.

When will it come into force?
The Treaty on the EAEU TK will come into force from the date of receipt of Kazakhstan depositary’s notification. Within three months it is planned to approve an instruction that will regulate legal relations connected with filing an application for an EEU trademark.

Zhanna Abylkhanova 
Senior lawyer of Legalmax, Chairwoman of the Union of Patent Attorneys of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Participated in the working group of the Majilis of the Parliament to discuss the draft Law of the RK "On Ratification of the Treaty on Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin of Goods of the Eurasian Economic Union".