Trademark registration general guidelines

Latvian Patent Office

The Patent Office is the central authority in the field of industrial property protection in Latvia.

Who can be Latvian trademark owner

Any private person or legal entity may apply for the registration of a trademark in Latvia. Trademarks can have multiple owners.

What can be registered as a trademark?

1. A trademark may consist of a designation that meets the following requirements:it has distinctiveness – such a set of characteristic features that provides the consumers of the relevant goods or services with the opportunity to distinguish the goods or services marked with this trademark from those that have a different origin. The distinctiveness of a sign depends on the nature of the sign, on the nature of the relevant goods or services, the specifics of the economic activity sector, as well as on the perception of the consumer of these goods or services;
2. It must be possible to reproduce the trademark in the trademark register in such a way that it can be clearly and unequivocally determined what is the subject of the protection granted to the owner of the trademark.

A trademark may in particular be a designation of the following type:

1. word mark, if it consists only of words or letters, numbers or other standard typographical signs or their combination;
2. a figurative mark, if it uses non-standard characters, a special stylization or layout, or a graphic element or color. This category includes marks consisting only of graphic elements and marks consisting of word and graphic elements;
3. a spatial sign, if it consists of a spatial volume, the shape of the product or its packaging, or it includes such an object;
4. location mark, if it consists of the special way in which it is placed on the product or attached to it;
5. an ornament sign, if it consists only of regularly repeating elements;
6. color mark, if it consists of only one specific color without contours (color by itself) or a combination of colors without contours;
7. sound mark, if it consists of a certain sound or a combination of sounds;
8. motion sign, if it consists of the movement or change of position of its elements or includes such elements;
9. a multimedia sign, if it consists of a combination of image and sound or includes such elements;
10. holographic sign, if it consists of elements with holographic signs.

Protection of unregistered trademarks in Latvia

Unregistered trademarks may be used in commerce. A person who uses an unregistered trademark has the right to:

1. contest the registration of another person’s trademark in accordance with Clause 5 of the first part of Article 10 of Trademark Law;
2. to refer to the rights of the owner of a well-known trademark if there is evidence of the trademark being widely known in Latvia.

Unregistered trademarks can be protected by the means provided for in Competition Law. Unfair competition is prohibited, it may occur in the form of the use of another trader’s trade mark if such use may be misleading as regards the origin of the products. Upon finding such an infringement, the trademark owner must go to court. However, it might not always be possible to prove unfair competition, especially if the trademark is not yet in use. (Competition Law Section 18)

Procedure for trademark registration in Latvia

Trademark application – registration and publication:

A trademark application form includes:

1. a request to register a trademark;
2. the information which enables the applicant to be unambiguously identified;
3. a representation of the mark applied for;
4. the list of goods and services for which registration of the trademark is requested (the Nice Classification must be used when compiling the list of goods and services).

The application shall be filed, and all processing and correspondence related to the trade mark registration procedure shall be in the Latvian language. Documents may be submitted in foreign languages if a certified translation into the Latvian language is appended thereto in accordance with specified procedures.

If the applicant does not have a domicile in Latvia, he must be represented by a professional patent attorney certified in trademark matters.

Only one trademark can be registered in one application.

The application fee of 90 EUR must be paid within one month from the date of submission of the registration application. If the application covers more than one class of goods or services, an additional fee of 30 EUR must be paid for each additional class.

The notice of registration of a trademark is published in the Official Gazette of the Patent Office, and the trademark owner is issued a registration certificate in paper or electronic format.

Registration fee of EUR 95 must be paid within 2 months.

Refusal on absolute grounds

The patent office will assess whether the proposed trademark is distinctive enough in order to distinguish your goods or services from those of your competitors and also whether it doesn’t contain any of the elements excluded from registration by law.

The trademark will not be registered if it:

1. cannot be reproduced in the Trade Mark register in such a way that the subject matter of the protection granted to the holder of the trade mark can be clearly and unambiguously determined;
2. lacks any distinctiveness with regard to the goods or services for which registration is sought ;
3. consists exclusively of signs or indications which may serve, in trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin or the time of production of the goods or of rendering of the service, or other characteristics of the goods or service;
4. consists exclusively of signs or indications which have become customary in the current language or in the bona fide and established practices of the trade;
5. consists exclusively of
   the shape, or another characteristic, which results from the nature of the goods themselves;
   the shape, or another characteristic, of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result;
   the shape, or another characteristic, which gives substantial value to the goods;
6. is contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality;
7. is of such a nature as to deceive the public, for instance as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of the goods or service;
8. includes the coat of arms, flag, official hallmark, control or guarantee mark of a member state of the Paris Union or the emblem, flag, name or abbreviation of an international organization;
9. includes badges, emblems or escutcheons, images of national awards or Official Service insignia or official marks of control, quality, guarantee or safety in the use of goods, which are used with respect to identical or similar goods or services in Latvia, unless the consent of the competent authority to their registration has been given;
10. includes signs of high symbolic value, as well as religious symbols, that have significance in Latvian society;
11. is excluded from registration, pursuant to Union legislation or laws and regulations of the Republic of Latvia or to international agreements to which the Union or the Republic of Latvia is party, providing for the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications;
12. is excluded from registration pursuant to Union legislation or international agreements to which the Union or the Republic of Latvia is party, providing for the protection of traditional terms for wine;
13. is excluded from registration pursuant to Union legislation or international agreements to which the Union or the Republic of Latvia is party, providing for protection of traditional specialities guaranteed;
14. consists of, or reproduces in their essential elements, an earlier plant variety denomination registered in accordance with Union legislation or laws and regulations of the Republic of Latvia or international agreements to which the Union or the Republic of Latvia is a party, providing for protection of plant variety rights, and which are in respect of plant varieties of the same or closely related species.

In addition, the Patent Office may refuse to register a trademark if the mark applied for is similar to a well-known trademark in Latvia or if the trademark application has been filed with a manifestly dishonest intention.

Refusal and invalidation on relative grounds

The relative basis for refusal or invalidation of trademark registration protects the rights and legal interests of other persons and is generally applicable at the request of interested parties.

Earlier trademarks

1) it is identical to an earlier trade mark, and the goods or services in respect of which the trade mark was registered are identical to the goods or services in respect of which the earlier trade mark was registered;

2) in connection with its identity or similarity to, an earlier trade mark belonging to another person and the identity or similarity of the respective goods or services, there exists a likelihood of confusion of the trademarks or a likelihood of association between the trademarks on behalf of the relevant consumers.

An earlier trademark within the meaning of the first part of this section is:

1) a trademark registered in Latvia or, with respect to Latvia, registered in the international registration procedure, or a trademark of the European Union, if the date of its registration application is earlier than the date of the application for registration of the contested trademark, also taking into account the rightfully requested priority for these trademarks;

2) European Union trademark whose registration application date is later, but the seniority date is earlier than the contested trademark registration application date, if its seniority from a trademark registered in Latvia, or from a trademark registered in relation to Latvia in international registration in the procedure, requested justifiably, even if the registration of the trademark from which seniority is requested has been deleted at the owner’s initiative or due to the expiration of its validity period;

3) the trademark applied for registration referred to in clauses 1 or 2 of the second part of this Article (submitted trademark registration application), if it is registered.

Well-known trademarks

A trade mark registration may be refused or, if registered, the registration may be invalidated under the provisions of this Law, if the trade mark constitutes a reproduction, an imitation, a translation or a transliteration, liable to create confusion, of another trademark, which, even though unregistered, was well-known in Latvia with respect to identical or similar goods or services, on the date of filing of application of the applied for (opposed) registration of trademark (or the date of priority if priority has been granted).

In addition to the provisions of Paragraph one of this Section, the registration of a trade mark may be refused or invalidated also if the goods or services regarding which trade mark registration has been applied for are not similar to the goods or services covered by a well-known trade mark in Latvia, provided that the use of the trade mark applied for (opposed) in relation to such goods or services may be perceived by consumers as an indication of a connection between such goods and services, and the owner of the well-known trade mark, and that such use may be detrimental to the interests of the owner of the well-known trade mark.

Trademarks with a reputation

Trademark registration can be declared invalid if the trademark is identical or similar to an earlier trademark that has acquired a reputation, irrespective of the similarity of goods or services covered, when the use of the later mark would without reasonable cause benefit unfairly from the distinctiveness or reputation of that earlier trademark or harm the distinctiveness or reputation of the earlier trademark.

Other earlier rights

The registration can be contested to the extent that it conflicts with

1. The rights related to the reproduction of the name, surname, pseudonym, portrait of any person, signature of a well-known person, except for the case when this person died 50 years ago or earlier;
2. Copyrights
3. Rights related to the commercial name of a firm, goods or services, media name or other similar designation used in an identical or similar sector of economic activity, if the bona fide and legal use of the commercial name of a firm, product or service, media name or other similar designation in economic circulation Started in Latvia before the date of the trademark registration application or, if applicable, the priority date;
4. Rights related to a Latvian or foreign firm, trade mark, media name or other similar designation already known in Latvia before the date of the trademark registration application or, as the case may be, the priority date, even if they are used in a different sector of economic activity;
5. Rights related to an unregistered trademark or other designation used to distinguish goods or services, including a domain name, if the unregistered trademark, other mentioned designation or domain name precedes the date of the application for registration of the registered trademark or, as the case may be, priority of the date has been used in good faith in Latvia in connection with identical or similar goods or services for such a long time and to such an extent that the use of the registered trademark may mislead consumers about the origin of the relevant goods or services;
6. Rights related to earlier and registered Latvian or Community designs or unregistered Community designs;
7. Rights related to the name of the place of origin or the indication of geographical origin, if the registration application for the registration of these rights was submitted to the competent European Union institution before the date of the trademark registration application or, as the case may be, the priority date, provided that the name of the place of origin or geographical origin the indication has been registered, or if the name of the place of origin or geographical indication has been protected in the European Union or Latvia in accordance with an international agreement already before the mentioned date;
8. Rights related to a guaranteed traditional characteristic or a traditional designation of wines protected in the European Union or Latvia, if a guaranteed traditional characteristic or a traditional designation of wines has been applied for protection in the European Union before the date of the trademark registration application or, as the case may be, the priority date, or if the guaranteed the traditional characteristic or the traditional designation of wines has been protected in the European Union or Latvia in accordance with an international agreement already before the mentioned date;
9. Rights related to a plant variety name protected in the European Union or Latvia, if the plant variety name has been applied for protection in the European Union or Latvia before the date of the trademark registration application or, as the case may be, the priority date, or if the plant variety name is protected in the European Union or in Latvia in accordance with an international agreement already before the mentioned date;
10. Other earlier and valid intellectual property rights.

A person who is the owner of this trademark in one of the member states of the Paris Union or the TRIPS Agreement is also entitled to request that the trademark registration be declared invalid, if the trademark was registered in Latvia by an agent or representative of the owner in his own name without the owner’s consent, except for the case, when there is a proper excuse for the conduct of the representative or agent.

Responding to Oppositions / Filing Oppositions in Latvia

Within three months from the date of the publication and registration of a trade mark, interested persons may, upon paying a fee of 180 EUR, submit an opposition to the registration of a trademark. The opposition shall be filed with the Industrial Property Board of Appeals. The time periods laid down in the industrial property laws and regulations for the submission of a notice of opposition shall not be extended or renewed.

The Board of Appeal examines the disputes regarding the registration of an object of industrial property, to which a notice of opposition of a third person has been submitted (matters of opposition)

If a notice of opposition has been accepted, and a matter of opposition has been initiated, the Board of Appeal will send copies of the notice of opposition and the attached documents to the owner of the contested registration. 

The owner of the contested registration can submit a written response to the opposition within two months after the day of sending the respective documents.

In response to the opposition the owner of the contested registration indicates his or her counterarguments to the claim of the notice of opposition with evidence proving them. The owner of the contested registration may recognise the claim of the notice of opposition fully or in part thereof as well.

If an opposition is fully or partly based on an earlier trade mark, after registration of which not less than five years have passed, the owner of the contested registration is entitled to request in writing that the submitter of the notice of opposition submits evidence for the actual use of the earlier trade mark within two months after the day of sending the opposition documents. 

The owner of a contested registration in a matter of opposition is entitled to refuse to provide explanations or from other obligations, and may request that the matter is examined on the basis of the existing materials in it.

Appealing the decision of the Patent Office

If an applicant or other addressee of the decision of the Patent Office disagrees in whole or in part with the decision of the Patent Office, taken in connection with the preliminary examination of an application or the results of the expert-examination of the trade mark, or a decision taken in another procedure in connection with the trademark registration, he or she may submit a written motivated appeal to the Patent Office within three months from the day of receipt of the decision. The official fee is 150 EUR.

Licence registration

It is recommended to register a licence in Latvia, but it’s not mandatory. The licence agreement will still be recognized as valid, even if it is not entered in the State Register of Trademarks. You can also register a licence agreement which relates to a trademark which has not yet been registered.

Registration of a license agreement in Latvia costs 45 EUR.

You can register a licence by submitting an application to The Patent Office, which must include:

1. a request regarding registration of a licence contract; 
2. a document certifying the information to be included in the register;
3. a mandate, if necessary.

After receiving the fee, The Patent Office will include information regarding the trademark licencing agreement in the Register of Trademarks and publish it in its official publication.

Proof of use (when/if necessary)

You don’t have to be using the trademark in order to register it in Latvia. Nor is it necessary to prove that you have the intention to use it. 

However, it may be annulled, if:

1. you haven’t started using the trademark in connection with the goods and services for which it has been registered within five years from the date of completion of its registration procedure OR
2. such use has been discontinued during the period of validity of the trademark for five successive years and there are not sufficient reasons for non-use.

The period of five years from the date of completion of the registration procedure shall run from the date on which the opposition to the trade mark in question may no longer be filed or, if the opposition has been received, from the date on which the decision terminating the opposition proceedings took effect or the opposition was withdrawn. 

Renewal

The registration of a trademark is valid for 10 years from the date of the registration application. It can be renewed indefinitely, for 10 years at a time, so it can potentially last forever.

The trademark registration must be renewed during the last year of each 10 year period and it costs EUR 180. 

If, for some reason, the registration has not been renewed before it expires, you can also renew it within six months of the expiry date. In this case, an additional cost of EUR 90 is required.

Removal from register

Surrender of Registration

The owner of a trademark may request the exclusion of the registered trademark from the Register before the expiration of its term of validity.

Invalidation 

Trademark registration can be declared invalid if there are absolute or relative grounds for invalidation. 

Revocation 

Trademark registration can be cancelled if the trademark has not been actually used in connection with the goods and services for which it is registered within five consecutive years after the completion of its registration procedure, or if such use has been interrupted for at least five consecutive years before filing a claim for cancellation of the trademark registration, and there is no proper justification for this non-use.

Trademark registration can be cancelled if, after registration, the trademark has become a generic name (general concept) in economic circulation due to the action or inaction of its owner in relation to the product or service for which it is registered.

The registration of a trademark may be cancelled if, after registration, it has been used by the owner of the trademark or if it has been used with the consent of the owner in connection with the goods or services for which it is registered, but as a result of this use, the said trademark may mislead the public, especially with regard to these goods or the nature, quality or geographical origin of the services.

Exclusion from the Register due to expiration

The Patent Office excludes the registered trademark from the Register if the period of validity of the trademark registration and the additional period of six months for the renewal of the registration has expired, but the registration has not been renewed.

Monitoring rights (Customs Action)

You can also defend your rights by asking customs to detain goods found to be suspected of infringing your intellectual property rights. In order to do so, you must lodge an application for action with the customs department, requesting them to take action. This will allow you to detect counterfeit goods. There are no official fees for such a service, but you have to agree in advance to cover the costs incurred by the customs in disposing of the goods in accordance with the procedure. (EU Customs Regulation 608/2013)

Representation before the Patent Office

Latvian residents can represent themselves before the Patent office and the Board of Appeal.

For non-residents a representative is necessary.

The following persons are entitled to participate in the procedures in the Patent Office and the Board of Appeal only through a professional patent attorney:

1. a natural person whose declared place of residence is not in Latvia and who does not own an enterprise in Latvia;
2. a legal person whose legal address is in a foreign country and who does not own an enterprise in Latvia.

Power of attorney is not required for professional patent attorneys, but it must be submitted, if the Patent Office or the Board of Appeal has reasonable doubts as to the scope of authorisation or other circumstances related to the representation.  If the Patent Office or the Board of Appeal has reasonable doubt as to the scope of authorisation or other circumstances related to the representation, it is entitled, by stating the justification, to request appropriate evidence. (Law on Industrial Property Institutions and Procedures Section 117; 118; Section 125)

Power of attorney is required to represent the client in court. (Civil Procedure Law Section 85)

10. Latvian Patent Office official fees for trademark procedures

The following fees to Latvian Patent Office must be paid in advance.

Latvian Patent Office Fee Description	Amount of Fee (EUR)
Filing of a trademark application	90
Filing of a collective mark application or a certification mark application	150
For each class of goods (services) in excess of one in a trademark application, a collective mark application or a certification mark application	30
Additional fee for accelerated (extraordinary) examination of an application for registration of a trademark, a collective mark or a certification mark	100
Registration of a trademark, a collective mark or a certification mark (including a grant of certificate and publication of registration)	95
Amendments, specifications or corrections to the application made on the applicant’s initiative	20
Renewal of trademark registration under Article 45, Paragraph 4 of the Trademark Law	180
Renewal of a collective mark or a certification mark registration under Article 45, Paragraph 4 of the Trademark Law	240
Extension of the term for renewal of a trademark, a collective mark or a certification mark registration under Article 45, Paragraph 5 of the Trademark Law	90
Extension of the terms referred to in Article 46, Paragraph 1 of the Trademark Law	30
Further processing under Article 47, Paragraph 2 of the Trademark Law	45
Re-establishment of rights under Article 48, Paragraph 2 of the Trademark Law	70
Filing of an appeal	150
Filing of opposition to the registration of a trademark	180
Registration of transfer of rights to a trademark, a collective mark or certification mark or registration of a licence contract	45
Amendments and corrections in the Register of Trademarks (with the exception of changes in the address of the owner of the trademark or in address for service, of recording of information on the appointment and removal of the representative, amendments to the information on the representative, as well as corrections of errors made by the Patent Office) under Article 27, Paragraph 5, Article 29, Paragraph 5, Article 41, Paragraph 2, Article 59, Paragraph 2, Article 68, Paragraph 1 or Article 75, Paragraph 1 of the Trademark Law	30
Registration of a commercial pledge entry	30
Issuance of a duplicate registration certificate	42,69

Fee Description	Amount of Fee (EUR)
Filing of an appeal against a decision of the Patent Office taken within the registration or post-registration procedure	150
Filing of an opposition to the registration of a trademark, design or topography of semiconductor products	180
Postponing the examination of the matter	30
Extension of the time period for the examination of a matter, to agree on settlement	20
Extension of the procedural time period	30
Additional fee for a repeated extension of the procedural time period	40
Renewal of the delayed procedural time period	45
Additional fee for the examination of a matter in the oral procedure	80

Legal framework

The most important pieces of national legislation concerning trademarks in Latvia are: 

Trademark Law

Law on Industrial Property Institutions and Procedures 

Competition Law

Cabinet Regulation No. 266 “Regulations Regarding Applications for the Registration of Trade Marks, Transfer of Rights and Licensing Thereof”

Cabinet Regulation No. 723 “Price list of paid services of the Patent Board”

Cabinet Regulation No. 732 “Price List of Paid Services of the Industrial Property Board of Appeal”

Cabinet Regulation No. 719 “Procedures by which a Person Handling Registration or Post-registration Procedures shall Submit Documents to the Patent Office”

Law On Trade Marks and Indications of Geographical Origin (no longer in force but relevant in relation to trademark registrations applied before 06.03.2020.)

International treaties and legal acts issued by the EU

Along with national regulations, there are international treaties and legal acts issued by the EU which also regulate trademark-related matters in Latvia.

As Latvia is part of the EU, these are some of the EU directives and regulations governing trademark procedures in Latvia:

Directive (EU) 2015/2436 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2015 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to trade marks (recast) (Text with EEA relevance)

Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on the European Union trade mark (codification)(Text with EEA relevance. )

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/625 of 5 March 2018 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Union trade mark, and repealing Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1430

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/626 of 5 March 2018 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Union trade mark, and repealing Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1431

Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 concerning customs enforcement of intellectual property rights and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1383/2003

Some of the most prominent trademark-related treaties Latvia has ratified are the following:

• Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
• Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
• Madrid Protocol concerning the International Registration of Marks
• Nice Agreement concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks
• Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
• Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks
• Trademark Law Treaty

Trademark search before registration

Before filing a trademark application, we highly recommend you ensure that no one else is using that same or confusingly similar trademark in the competing business field and territory.

Search should be conducted among all registered and unregistered prior rights in countries you have the intention to use the trademark now and in the foreseeable future. 

What does our (Intellectual Agency) search report includes?

1. Trademark attorney’s opinion on trademark registrability based on all absolute grounds.
2. List with details of all identical trademarks and TM applications in all classes in all registers relevant to the territory of interest.
3. All similar trademarks and trademark applications in relevant classes in all pertinent registers to the territory of interest.
4. Opinion about the possible oppositions.
5. Attorney’s evaluation of the chances to register the trademark with advice on how to overcome all the possible obstacles.

We will be happy to assist you with trademark matters in Latvia!

To request the list of our fees, please fill out the contact form.