In accordance with the previously provisions of trademark in Laos, registration of a trademark application for multiple class are not acceptable. It requires each trademark application only be registered for one class of goods/services. This regulation may cause difficulties for the Applicant in disbursement as well as trademark management.
In 2011, the Intellectual Property Law of Laos was revised ?One registration application is valid for only one trademark but may apply to more than one class of goods or services as per the international classifications, subject to the payment of a fee for each class of goods or services?. Article 33 of Laos IP Law 2011. However, it has not yet been implemented because of many reasons.
New Development
To take the multiple-class trademark application provisions into practice, the Laos Intellectual Property Department, Ministry of Science and Technology has just issued Notice No.57/MOST.DIP. According to this Notice, multiple-class application for trademark in Laos officially allow as from February 01, 2016.
Multi-class trademark application brings some advantages, particularly:
- Saving trademark registration fees when a lower cost is applied for additional class(es), while the first class is applied as a standard rate;
- Saving and simplifying trademark administration management, favorable in statistics and following trademark applications procedure;
- Saving trademark registration number resources; reducing examination workload and the time flame for examination trademark single application may be improved;
- Advantages of monitoring and implementation of procedures for renewal, avoid being overlooked when many trademarks are protected for other classes.
In conclusion, multiple-class trademark application in Laos is suitable with the trademark registration provision of most countries in the world. It provides the new option for Applicants who are interested in filing trademark in Laos. Depending on the brand registration and development strategy as well as protection for trademark in Laos, the Applicant can choose the Single-class or Multi-class application.
In case you require more information or require advice on trademark in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar, please do not hesitate to contact us via email: enquiries@bycpa.com.
February 2016 Kaizen Intellectual Property Agent Limited | 
