Myanmar to Debut Trademark Office as Part of Economic Revamp

Myanmar is preparing to open a trademark office in January, part of a legal transition to parallel the country’s broader move from military dictatorship to a semi-democratic state.

Businesses with registered marks must re-register online once the office launches next month, an official at the Ministry of Education’s Intellectual Property Department said. The office, which will be under the Ministry of Commerce, will process re-registrations first, then allow companies to apply for new trademarks by mid-2020, she said. Businesses that don’t re-register their trademarks risk losing them to new registrants.

The new trademark office is another step toward Myanmar’s goals ...