Contracting countries to international intellectual property treaties such as the WIPO Convention have not yet joined the Madrid Agreement or the Madrid Protocol, so trademark registration can only be handled through "single country registration".

Cape Verde Trademark Application

Currently, the Cape Verde government adopts the 10th edition of the Nice Classification for goods and service descriptions and accepts applications for multiple categories in one form. The elements that can be registered as trademarks in Cape Verde include words, names, graphics, three-dimensional logos, color combinations, sounds, etc.

If the applicant does not live in Cape Verde, he must entrust a specialized agent in his country to handle the application. The basic materials required for Cape Verde trademark application are:

1. Trademark drawing;

2. Category and specific goods/services;

3. Applicant's name and address;

4. Power of attorney, which needs to be notarized;

5. If priority is declared, priority certification documents and corresponding Portuguese translations must be provided.

The main process of applying for registration of a Cape Verde trademark is: application, acceptance, review, announcement, approval, and certification. After the application is submitted, the official will first conduct a formal review, that is, check whether the application materials and classification information comply with the regulations. The acceptance is usually completed within 1 to 2 months. After acceptance, a substantive review of the trademark will be conducted, including review of the distinctiveness of the trademark, whether it violates prohibitions and prohibitions, and whether it conflicts with prior trademarks. If the review is passed, an announcement will be made; if the review fails, a notice of rejection will be issued. The applicant is also required to respond within the time limit specified in the rejection notice.

The objection period is 2 months from the date of announcement of the preliminary review. Any interested parties or prior rights holders may raise objections. The main reasons for raising objections are:

1. Prior trademark conflict, such as having a prior registered trademark;

2. The trademark lacks distinctiveness;

3. The trademark has adverse effects;

4. Malice Registration;

5. Conflict with other prior rights, such as trade name rights, designs, copyrights, names, etc.

If there is no objection during the announcement period or the objection is not established, registration will be allowed and a registration certificate will be issued after the objection period ends. Under normal circumstances, trademark registration in Cape Verde currently takes 3 to 4 years; if objections or rejections are encountered midway, the time will be greatly extended.

Maintenance of registered trademarks in Cape Verde

A Cape Verde trademark is valid for 10 years after registration, and the validity period is calculated from the registration date; renewal can be applied for within 6 months before the expiration date, and the extension period is 6 months; renewal is valid for 10 years.

A declaration of use must be submitted to the Trademark and Patent Office every 5 years starting from the date of trademark registration, except in the renewal year and the renewal registration fee has been paid. Failure to submit a statement of use on time cannot be used against a third party, and it is easy to obtain official support when others apply for revocation on the grounds of non-use. If there is no confrontation with a third party or an application for cancellation, the official will not take the initiative to cancel the registered trademark, and it will continue to be valid after the right holder submits an oath of trademark use.

The respondent can generally provide the following evidence materials to respond to other people’s cancellation applications on the grounds of “non-use”: invoices, packaging, decoration, written statements, product catalogs, labels, market survey results, turnover Evidence, advertising, quotations.

Cape Verde registered trademarks and others

According to the relevant provisions of Cape Verde’s civil law, anyone who continues to use an unregistered trademark in the country for more than 6 months has the right to register the trademark, and also has the right to register the trademark. right to prevent others from registering the trademark.

Before the promulgation and implementation of the Industrial Property Code in 2007, the country had no written trademark regulations, a public announcement system was used to confirm trademark rights, and no registration certificate was issued.