Southern Sudan was established as a separate state in July last year. Although it has not yet enacted trade mark legislation, its Ministry of Justice recently issued written directives to officials at the Trade Mark Office setting out procedures for the reservation of marks.
Background
Prior to Southern Sudan's independence, the Trade Mark Law 1969 of Sudan was in force in Southern Sudan. Following independence, that is no longer the case. Marks previously registered in Sudan will no longer be in force in Southern Sudan. The new state will be issuing its own trade mark law. In the meantime, written directives have been issued to provide for the reservation of trade marks.
'Reservation of trade mark' directives
The directives, which will remain in force until the enactment of Southern Sudan's new Trade Mark Law, provide as follows.
- A written application may be submitted to the Registrar, with details, including representations, of the trade mark in relation to which protection is sought.
- To ascertain availability, the Registrar will conduct a preliminary search of marks the subject of reservations under the new system.
- If the mark has not been reserved, it will be reserved in the applicant's name, and will not be available for use by any other person.
Our comment
Despite problems in the region, Southern Sudan is oil rich, and historically a region with good language skills (Arabic, English, French). There is potential for development.
Trade mark owners with any interest in the area, and particularly those whose marks have previously been registered in Sudan, should be taking steps to reserve their marks in Southern Sudan without delay. It seems that the reservation system is intended to work on a 'first-come-first-served' basis and this, combined with the absence of fees, is likely to make it very attractive to pirates.
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