Albania

GENERAL INFORMATION

Area: 28,748 sq. km.

Population: 3,107,100 (2024).
Capital: Tirana.
Language: Albanian.
Currency: Lek.

GENERAL REMARKS

Albania is a mountainous country, bounded by Montenegro and Kosovo in the north, North Macedonia in the east, Greece in the south and by the Adriatic Sea in the west.

PATENTS OF INVENTION

LEGAL BASIS

• Law on Industrial Property, No. 9947, dated July 7, 2008, in force since February 15, 2009.
• Law No. 10/2013, dated February 2, 2013, on Amendments and Additions to the Law No. 9947, aligning with EU Directives.
• Law No. 55/2014, dated May 29, 2014, on Amendments and Additions to the Law No. 9947, aligning with EU Directives.
• Law No. 17/2017, dated February 2, 2017, on Amendments and Additions to the Law No. 9947, in force since March 25, 2017.
• Law No. 96/2021, dated July 7, 2021, on Amendments and Additions to the Law No. 9947, in force since August 22, 2021.
• Law No. 53/2025 on Patents, Utility Models and Supplementary Protection Certificates, published in the Official Gazette on August 1, 2025, in force since August 16, 2025. (This law is fully harmonized with EU directives and regulations.)

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since October 4, 1995.
• Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), since February 2, 1996.
• European Patent Convention, since May 1, 2010.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of attorney (notarization only in absence of the company seal);
• Specification (including description and claims) with abstracts: 2 copies for translation into Albanian;
• Drawings;
• Priority document, if priority is claimed, only on request of the Patent Office.

REMARKS

National Phase of PCT:  under Chapter I and II: 31 months.

Validity:  patent issued after formal examination only – valid for 20 years.

Annuities:  must be paid beginning from the third year from the date of filing the application.

Objections:  can be filed with the Patent Office within 9 months from the date of publication of the granted patent.

TRADE AND SERVICE MARKS

LEGAL BASIS

• Law No. 52/2025 on Trademarks, published in the Official Gazette on August 1, 2025, in force since August 16, 2025. (This law is fully harmonized with EU directives and regulations.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since October 4, 1995.
• Madrid Agreement, since October 4, 1995.
• Madrid Protocol, since July 30, 2003.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of attorney (notarization only in absence of the company seal);
• 10 specimens of the mark (even for word marks);
• Priority document, if any.

REMARKS

Kinds of protection:  a trademark may be any sign, in particular words, including personal names or designs, letters, numbers, colors, the form of goods or their packaging, or sounds, provided that those signs are capable of (a) distinguishing the goods or services of a natural or legal person from those of another natural or legal person; (b) being represented in the Register in such a way as to enable the competent authorities and the public to determine clearly and accurately the object of protection recognized to its owner.

Classification:  International.

Obligation to use the registered mark:  compulsory. If not used, without good reasons, within any five-year period after the registration (or last use) date, the mark can be cancelled upon request of an interested party; nominal use (advertising, publications) is accepted in absence of actual use.

Duration – renewals:  10-year period after the filing date or last renewal date.

Opposition:  provided for published applications, within a three-month period; a registered trademark can be cancelled by any interested party during the entire period of validity through a request to the Chamber for cancellation/invalidation or in court.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS

LEGAL BASIS

• Law on Industrial Property, No. 9947, dated July 7, 2008, in force since February 15, 2009.
• Law No. 10/2013, dated February 2, 2013, on Amendments and Additions to the Law No. 9947, aligning with EU Directives.
• Law No. 55/2014, dated May 29, 2014, on Amendments and Additions to the Law No. 9947, aligning with EU Directives.
• Law No. 17/2017, dated February 2, 2017, on Amendments and Additions to the Law No. 9947, in force since March 25, 2017.
• Law No. 96/2021, dated July 7, 2021, on Amendments and Additions to the Law No. 9947, in force since August 22, 2021.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since October 4, 1995.
• Hague Agreement, Stockholm Act since March 19, 2007, and Geneva Act since May 19, 2007.
• Locarno Agreement, since January 16, 2019.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of attorney (notarization only in absence of the company seal);
• Drawings, scheme or sample;
• Description of the design;
• Identity of the creator(s);
• If priority is claimed, precise identifications of the priority claim.

REMARKS

Duration:  after formal examination: 5 years. Renewable up to 25 years.

Opposition:  provided (as for trademarks).

DOMAIN NAMES

LEGAL BASIS

There is no specific legislation on country code top-level domain names.

FILING

• ccTLD:  .al
• Applicant:  individuals and legal entities.
• Local Presence:  no longer required for top-level .al domains, however, for the sub-domains .com.al; .edu.al; .gov.al; .org.al; .net.al and .mil.al local presence is still required.

REMARKS

Duration – renewals:  one to ten years, renewable.

Uniform dispute resolution procedure:  none.

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