A trademark may consist of any signs, in particular words, including personal names, or designs, letters, numerals, colours, the shape of goods or of the packaging of goods, or sounds provided that such signs are capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings.

The appropriate application form may be completed and submitted online at at ips.gov.mt.

If the trademark is an image then, as indicated above, a graphical representation is required along with a power of attorney wherever representatives act on behalf of the trademark owner. Other documents may also be required when filing a trademark application such as: priority certificates or regulations in the case of applications for Collective or Certification Marks.

The cost for a new trademark is €115 covering filing, registration and publication of the new trademark. The protection period for the registered trademark is of 10 years from the filing date.

It will take between 3 to 5 months from date of filing to date of registration.

As part of the examination to assess whether a trade mark is capable of registration, the office will conduct a seach so as to check whether a similar or identical trade mark is already registered or applied for in Malta and in the European Union. The application will also be examined on absolute grounds of the law such as descriptiveness, public morality etc. However, once the trade mark application is submitted and following examination, the application is deemed to be not acceptable, any trade mark fees cannot be refunded. For this reason, it is always advisable to carry a search before applying for a trade mark whether there are any prior national and EU trade mark applications or registrations which are similar to your mark by using the online national trade mark register ips.gov.mt/NR or the TMview. Access to these databases is free of charge. You may also request that a search is carried out by the office by contacting us at [email protected] for which the applicable fee will apply.

No, it is not necessary to appoint a representative.

Yes, retail services are one of the 45 categories of goods or services that are protected in Malta, at European level or world wide. In order to assist you in classifying your goods or services and to ensure that you include goods and services which are acceptable to the office or the EUIPO when filing an EU trade mark, it is recommended that you refer to the TMClass tool.