Registering a trademark in Kosovo

You've built a name customers recognise. Then someone opens a business with a very similar name, or registers your name as a trademark before you do. Many owners only discover then that ARBK registration doesn't protect a brand.

ARBK and trademarks are different things#

• Your ARBK name identifies the business in the registry and stops another business registering an identical name. See Choosing a business name.
• A trademark protects the name, logo or sign you use for products and services. It gives you the right to stop anyone else using an identical or confusingly similar sign for similar goods.

A business can have the official name "Hoti Gastro SH.P.K." and the brand "Te Lisi". The brand is what needs protecting.

Where to register#

In Kosovo, trademarks are registered with the Industrial Property Agency (API), under the ministry responsible for trade and industry.

Trademark protection is territorial. A mark registered in the EU or Albania doesn't automatically protect you in Kosovo, and vice versa. If you sell abroad, plan to register there too.

What can be registered#

• Word marks: just the name, e.g. "Te Lisi";
• figurative marks: the logo;
• combined marks: name and logo in a specific form;
• in some cases, shapes, colours or sounds.

A mark must be distinctive. Words that simply describe the product, e.g. "Fresh Bread" for a bakery, usually can't be registered.

Nice classes#

Goods and services are divided into 45 classes under the international Nice classification. A mark is protected only for the classes you choose. Examples:

• class 30: coffee, bread, pastries;
• class 35: advertising, retail;
• class 43: restaurants and food service;
• class 42: software development.

A restaurant that also sells packaged sauces probably needs more than one class. Fees usually rise with the number of classes.

The steps#

1. Search existing marks in API's database for identical or similar signs. Check business names on Kerko too.
2. Prepare the application: applicant details, a representation of the mark and the list of goods and services by class.
3. Pay the filing fee.
4. Examination: API checks formal requirements and grounds for refusal.
5. Publication: the application is published, and third parties have a window to oppose it.
6. Registration: if there's no opposition, or it fails, the mark is registered and a certificate issued.

The process takes several months. Protection usually counts from the filing date, so file early.

How long protection lasts#

Usually ten years from filing, renewable for further ten-year periods. If you don't use the mark for a long period, it can be cancelled at someone else's request.

When to start#

Ideally before you invest in signage, packaging and advertising, i.e. when you choose the name. If you're setting up an SH.P.K. with partners, agree clearly whether the brand belongs to the company or to one partner. It matters a lot when someone leaves. See Selling shares in an SH.P.K..

Your brand on Kerko#

A verified Kerko profile links your brand to the registered business behind it, so customers see both your trading name and the real business. Verify your business.