Ownership of a trade mark in Cyprus is acquired by registration, under section 5 of Cap. 268. Registration runs ten years from the filing date and renews by decade. Opposition must be filed within a preclusive three months of publication. And a mark unused for five continuous years is exposed: under section 31 an opponent who cannot prove genuine use has the opposition rejected without the merits being examined at all.
The Trade Marks Law, Cap. 268, was substantially rewritten by Law 63(I)/2020, which brought Cyprus into line with the EU trade mark directive. What follows is the current text, and the practical points are not the ones businesses usually ask about.
Section 5 states the first of them plainly: the right of ownership in a mark is acquired by its registration in the Register. Use alone builds something, but what it builds is a passing off claim rather than ownership, and section 9(6) preserves that separately by providing that the infringement provisions do not affect section 35 of the Civil Wrongs Law.
What a mark can be made of
Section 4 allows a mark to consist of any signs, in particular words including personal names, designs, letters, numerals, colours, the shape of the product or its packaging, or sounds, on two conditions. They must be capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of another, and they must be represented in the Register in a way that allows the authorities and the public to determine clearly and precisely the subject matter of the protection.
The second condition replaced the old requirement of graphic representation, which is why sound marks are now expressly available. It is not a formality: a representation that leaves the scope of protection uncertain fails the section.
The absolute grounds, and the way back from three of them
Section 6(1) lists what cannot be registered, or may be declared invalid if it was: signs that cannot constitute a mark under section 4; marks devoid of distinctive character; marks consisting exclusively of signs that may serve in trade to designate kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin or the time of production or other characteristics; marks that have become customary in current language or in the bona fide and established practices of the trade; signs consisting exclusively of the shape or another characteristic imposed by the nature of the goods, necessary to obtain a technical result, or giving substantial value to the goods; marks contrary to public policy or accepted principles of morality; marks liable to deceive the public, particularly as to nature, quality or geographical origin; state emblems under Article 6ter of the Paris Convention; and badges, emblems or signs of high symbolic value or particular public interest, including religious symbols.
Section 6(2) adds exclusions drawn from the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications, traditional terms for wine, guaranteed traditional specialities, and earlier plant variety denominations.
Section 6(3) is short and it is the one that catches the opportunist: a mark may be declared invalid, or refused, if the application was made in bad faith.
Three of those grounds are not final. Under section 6(4) a mark caught by paragraphs (b), (c) or (d), that is lack of distinctiveness, descriptiveness, or customariness, is accepted for registration if before the filing date it has acquired distinctive character through use, and is not declared invalid on those grounds if it acquired distinctiveness before the application for invalidity. Under section 6(5) that also applies where distinctiveness was acquired after the filing date but before registration. Evidence of use is therefore worth assembling before abandoning a descriptive mark.
The relative grounds
Section 7(1) covers conflict with an earlier mark in two situations: where the mark is identical to an earlier mark and the goods or services are identical; and where, because of identity or similarity of the marks and identity or similarity of the goods or services, there is a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public, which expressly includes the likelihood of association.
Section 7(2) defines earlier marks, and the list is wider than a search of the Cyprus register alone: EU trade marks, marks registered in the Republic, marks that have been the subject of an international registration with effect in the Republic, EU marks validly claiming seniority from one of those, and applications for any of them subject to their registration.
What registration lets you stop
Section 9(1) confers an exclusive right. Section 9(2) gives it three limbs, and the third is the one businesses underestimate. The proprietor may prevent a third party using in the course of trade, without consent:
- a sign identical to the mark for goods or services identical to those for which it is registered;
- a sign identical or similar, for goods or services identical or similar, where there is a likelihood of confusion including a likelihood of association;
- a sign identical or similar, whether or not the goods or services are similar, where the mark has a reputation in the Republic and use of the sign without due cause would take unfair advantage of, or be detrimental to, the distinctive character or the repute of the earlier mark.
Section 9(3) then lists what may in particular be prohibited: affixing the sign to goods or their packaging; offering, marketing or stocking goods, or offering or supplying services, under the sign; importing or exporting goods under the sign; using the sign as a trade or company name or part of one; using it on business papers and in advertising; and using it in comparative advertising in a manner contrary to the misleading and comparative advertising directive.
The company name limb is worth pausing on. Incorporating a company under a name that matches somebody's registered mark is use the section reaches, whatever the Registrar of Companies allowed at incorporation.
Two further rights sit beside it. Section 9(4) allows the proprietor to stop goods entering the Republic without being released for free circulation where they come from third countries and bear, without authorisation, a mark identical or not distinguishable in its essential aspects. Section 10 reaches preparatory acts: affixing a sign to packaging, labels, tags, security or authenticity features, and offering, marketing, stocking, importing or exporting those means, where there is a risk they will be used in an infringing way.
What the right does not reach
Section 13(1) keeps three things outside the proprietor's control. A third party may use in the course of trade the name or address of a third person where that person is a natural person; signs or indications that are not distinctive or that concern kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin, time of production or other characteristics; and the mark itself to identify or refer to goods or services as those of the proprietor, which is the referential use that makes spare parts, compatibility statements and repair services possible.
Section 11 covers a different exposure: where reproduction of a mark in a dictionary, encyclopaedia or similar reference work, in print or electronic form, gives the impression that it is the generic name of the goods or services, the publisher must on the proprietor's request ensure the reproduction is accompanied by an indication that it is a registered trade mark, without delay and, for a printed work, in the next edition at the latest.
Section 12 deals with the agent who registers the principal's mark in his own name without authority: the proprietor may oppose the agent's use of it and may demand assignment of the mark, unless the agent justifies his action.
Opposition, and the trap for the opponent
Section 28(1) allows opposition to a decision accepting an application within a preclusive period of three months from publication of the decision, on one or more of the grounds in section 6 or in section 7(1), (3) and (4). Under section 28(2) an opposition on absolute grounds may be brought by anyone with a legitimate interest; under section 28(3), on relative grounds, by the proprietors of the earlier marks or rights.
Section 31 is where oppositions are lost. On the applicant's request, the opponent must prove that during the five years preceding the filing date or the priority date of the later mark, the earlier mark was put to genuine use for the goods or services on which the opposition is based, or that there were proper reasons for non use. Where the earlier mark was used for only part of the goods, it is treated as registered only for that part. And if the opponent does not prove genuine use, the opposition is rejected without the merits being examined.
A portfolio held defensively, registered broadly and used narrowly, is therefore weaker in opposition than its owner assumes. The evidence of use is the asset.
Genuine use, and the five years
Section 16(1) sets the obligation: where within five years of the completion of the registration procedure the proprietor has not put the mark to genuine use in the Republic for the goods or services for which it is registered, or has suspended use for five continuous years, the mark is subject to the limits and sanctions in the sections the subsection lists, unless there are proper reasons for non use.
Section 16(3) adds a practical detail worth knowing: the date on which the five year period begins is noted in the Register, so it can be checked rather than reconstructed.
Ten years, and the six months that follow
Section 34(1) gives registration a term of ten years from the filing date of the application, not from the date of registration. Section 34(2) allows renewal by decade on the proprietor's application and timely payment of the fee.
Section 34(3) fixes the window: the renewal application and the fee fall due within the last six months of the term, and may also be made within a further six months after expiry of the decade, on payment of the renewal fee increased by the percentage set in the regulations.
Section 34(4) requires the Office to notify the proprietor of the possibility of renewal six months before expiry, together with the consequences of not renewing and the late renewal option. The same subsection then removes any comfort that might give: the Office bears no liability if it fails to give that notification. Under section 34(5) the mark is removed if the application is not filed or the fee not paid within the period. The renewal diary belongs to the proprietor.
Questions we are asked
We have used our name for years. Do we already own it?
Not as a trade mark. Section 5 provides that the right of ownership in a mark is acquired by registration in the Register. What long use builds is a passing off claim, which section 9(6) expressly preserves by providing that the infringement provisions do not affect section 35 of the Civil Wrongs Law. The two are different rights, proved differently, and only one of them appears on a register a buyer or a bank can search.
Our mark describes what we sell. Is it registrable at all?
Possibly, on evidence. Descriptiveness is section 6(1)(c) and lack of distinctive character is section 6(1)(b), but section 6(4) accepts a mark caught by those paragraphs where it acquired distinctive character through use before the filing date, and section 6(5) extends that to distinctiveness acquired after filing but before registration. Assemble the evidence of use before abandoning the mark.
Someone registered a company with our brand name. Can we stop it?
Section 9(3)(d) is directly on the point: where the conditions of section 9(2) are met, the proprietor may prohibit use of the sign as a trade or company name or as part of one. That the Registrar of Companies accepted the name at incorporation does not answer the trade mark right.
How long do we have to oppose someone else's application?
Three months from publication of the decision accepting the application, and section 28(1) describes the period as preclusive. On absolute grounds anyone with a legitimate interest may oppose; on relative grounds it is for the proprietors of the earlier marks or rights.
We are opposing, but we have not used our mark much. Does that matter?
It can end the opposition. Under section 31, on the applicant's request you must prove genuine use of the earlier mark during the five years preceding the filing or priority date of the later mark, or proper reasons for non use. If you do not, the opposition is rejected without the merits being examined. Where you used the mark for only part of the goods, it is treated as registered only for that part.
Our mark is well known. Does that help against different goods?
Yes, and that is the third limb of section 9(2). Where the mark has a reputation in the Republic, the proprietor may prevent use of an identical or similar sign whether or not the goods or services are similar, if use without due cause would take unfair advantage of, or be detrimental to, the distinctive character or the repute of the mark.
Can a competitor mention our brand in their advertising?
Sometimes. Section 13(1)(c) permits use of the mark itself to identify or refer to goods or services as those of the proprietor, which is what makes compatibility statements, spare parts and repair services possible. But section 9(3)(f) prohibits use in comparative advertising in a manner contrary to the misleading and comparative advertising directive, so the referential use has to stay within those limits.
When does our registration expire?
Ten years from the filing date of the application, under section 34(1), not from the date the registration was granted. Renewal is by decade, applied for with the fee in the last six months of the term, or within a further six months after expiry on payment of an increased fee. The Office is required to notify you six months before, but section 34(4) states that it bears no liability if it fails to, so keep your own diary.
Can we register a sound, or the shape of our packaging?
Section 4 expressly allows both, along with words, personal names, designs, letters, numerals and colours, provided the sign distinguishes and is represented in the Register in a way that lets the authorities and the public determine clearly and precisely what is protected. Shape has its own limit: section 6(1)(e) excludes a shape or other characteristic imposed by the nature of the goods, necessary to obtain a technical result, or giving substantial value to the goods.
Our distributor registered our mark in their own name.
Section 12 addresses exactly that. Where an agent or representative, or their lawyer, registers or applies to register the proprietor's mark without authority, the proprietor may oppose the use of it and may demand assignment of the mark, unless the agent justifies the action. Section 6(3) may also be available, since an application made in bad faith may be refused or declared invalid.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws and their application can change, and individual circumstances differ. For advice on your own matter, contact Klitos Platis at klitos@kleanthousplatis.com or telephone +357 22 680 330.
Klitos Platis
Advocate, Partner
Kleanthous & Platis LLC, Nicosia · Published 22 August 2026
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