The Trademark Renewals On-line Filing is a brand new e-service launched by the Intellectual Property Registrations Directorate in conjunction with the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM). The Directorate is continuously striving to introduce new online facilities and tools to further accommodate IP attorneys and their clients in the swiftest way possible. In fact, the Directorate had first embarked on its mission to digitalise its services by launching an online portal for the filing of trademark and design applications. The Directorate aims to continue launching additional online services in the near future.
Indeed, this project has been set up in accordance with the objectives of Digital Malta which form part of the National Digital Strategy for 2014-2020. Digital Malta's Programme of Initiatives provides for a total of 228 initiatives to further enhance Malta's digital services.
IP attorneys are encouraged to make use of this advantageous new e-service for numerous reasons. The portal offers the possibility of access at any time of the day and utilisation of this service is not solely restricted for office use. Moreover, the portal is user friendly and the user would receive an acknowledgement upon filing. The system has been set up with the aim to avoid time consuming filing methods. In fact, once an applicant makes use of the portal, his/her details would be automatically saved for future filings. An applicant may save the application and continue to fill it in at any other time. Finally, the portal also provides for various payment methods; namely by bank transfer, credit card or a payment by a bank cheque may be resorted to if the applicant would want to defer payment.
In order to utilise the new portal for Trademark Renewals, a request must be made to the Intellectual Property Registrations Directorate on https://ips.gov.mt.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.