Kazakhstan
GENERAL INFORMATION
Area: 2,724,900 sq. km.
Population: 20,286,084 (2025).
Capital: Astana.
Language: Kazakh and Russian.
Currency: Fenge.
GENERAL REMARKS
Kazakhstan used to be a part of the former Soviet Union. The Republic declared its independence on December 16, 1991. The State Patent Office of Kazakhstan was established on June 23, 1992.
PATENTS OF INVENTION
LEGAL BASIS
- Patent Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in force since August 21, 1999, last amendments in force since August 21, 2022.
MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS
- Paris Convention, since December 25, 1991.
- Patent Cooperation Treaty, since December 25, 1991.
- Eurasian Patent Convention, since November 4, 1995.
FILING REQUIREMENTS
- Power of Attorney (no legalization);
- Specification: claims and abstract (may be filed in Kazakh or Russian language, or any other language, whereby the Kazakh or Russian translation should be filed within two months from the filing date);
- Drawings if any, 1 set;
- Priority certificate, if any.
REMARKS
National Phase of PCT: under Chapter I: 31 months; under Chapter II: 31 months.
Validity: (after full examination) 20 years from the filing date.
Annuities: beginning with the 1st annuity from the filing date. The accumulated annuities are required to be paid after the patent is granted and published (within two months from the publication date).
Opposition: may be presented by any person at any time during the patent validity, through court procedure.
TRADE AND SERVICE MARKS
LEGAL BASIS
- Law on Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin of the Republic of Kazakhstan, of July 26, 1999, in force since September 4, 1999, last amendments in force since June 8, 2024.
MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS
- Paris Convention, since December 25, 1991.
- Madrid Agreement, since December 25, 1991.
- Madrid Protocol, since December 8, 2010.
FILING REQUIREMENTS
- Power of Attorney (no legalization);
- The sign to be protected in electronic format;
- List of goods and/or services, according to the International Classification (to be translated into Kazakh or Russian); one application may include several international classes;
- Priority document, if any (to be filed within two months from the filing date).
REMARKS
Kinds of protection: trade and service marks, word marks, device marks and combinations thereof, three-dimensional, holographic, sound and smell marks. Besides the original version, filing of word mark applications in the Cyrillic alphabet is highly recommended, as the Kazakh language uses the Cyrillic alphabet, and Russian still being a parallel language in the country.
Classification: International.
Obligation to use the registered mark: must be used; if not used within any three-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 periods after the filing date or last renewal date.
Opposition: any interested party may file an opposition within one month from publication of the application.
INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
LEGAL BASIS
- Patent Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in force since August 21, 1999, last amendments in force since August 21, 2022.
MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS
- Paris Convention, since December 25, 1991
FILING REQUIREMENTS
- Power of Attorney (no legalization);
- The design itself (or in reduced size), photographs or drawings thereof;
- Specification of the design;
- Priority document, if any.
REMARKS
Duration – renewals: after a formal and full examination – 10 years from the filing date with possibility of renewal for three consecutive periods of five years, up to a total term of 25 years.
Opposition: may be presented by any person at any time during the design validity, through court procedure.
DOMAIN NAMES
LEGAL BASIS
- Rules for registration, use and allocation of domain space in the Kazakhstan segment of the Internet, approved by Order of the Minister of Communications and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated September 7, 2010, No 220, amended by the Orders of the Minister of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan on September 28, 2020 and September 20, 2022.
FILING
- ccTLD: .kz
- Applicant: individuals and legal entities.
- Local presence: not required.
REMARKS
Duration – renewals: one to ten years, renewable.
Uniform dispute resolution procedure: none, but an administrative procedure other than UDRP is available before Kaznic.
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