Uganda Trademarks Legal Alert:
Publication Of Trademarks In The Uganda Registration Services Bureau Journal Has Been Halted:
On 5th February 2021, the Trademark (Amendment) Regulations 2021 were passed into law. Top among the regulatory changes introduced, was the change in the publication requirements for trademark applications and other related matters. Whereas these were previously only published in the Uganda Gazette, the Amendment introduced the aspect of publication in “any other media as the Registrar may direct”. This amendment was, among other reasons spurred by the need to ease access to trademark information and reduce the cost of the registration and publication of trademark and related matters.
Citing authority of the above amendment, the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) established its alternative journal, the Uganda Registration Services Bureau Journal, which was cheaper, specialised and published weekly on the URSB website. The publication of trademark applications and other related matters in the URSB Journal officially commenced on 14th May 2021. From the time of the first publication to 12th November 2021, over 27 issues have been published.
The trademark publication fees in the URSB Journal have been UGX 100,000/= for local marks and USD 80 for foreign marks, as opposed to the Uganda Gazette’s UGX 290,000 for standard gazette notices that relate to application for a trademark or UGX 1,840 per word and UGX 345,000 for gazette notices that relate to alteration of trademarks.
However, due to a directive from the Solicitor General’s office, under the Ministry of Justice & Constitutional Affairs, publication of trademarks in the URSB Journal has been halted with effect from 10th December 2021. This directive however is without any amendment or revocation to the Trademark Regulations.
Although the law on publication of trademarks and related matters under the 2021 Trademark (Amendment) Regulations remains valid, the implication of this interruption is that in the meantime, publication of Trademark applications and other related matters can only be done through the Uganda Gazette. According to the latest communication from the Registrar General issued on 10th November to the Uganda Law Society, all trademark publication fees which were paid in respect of the URSB Journal should be utilised before 10th December 2021.
