A welcome return to the world of trademarks in Somalia
Matthew Costard of Spoor & Fisher welcomes the news that trademark registration is possible, once again, in Somalia
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April 19 2021
For many years it was not possible to register trademarks in Somalia, an east African state with a population of roughly 16 million. This was a consequence of a brutal civil war that started in 1991 and continued for many years. The best that international brand owners could do was publish cautionary notices in Somalian newspapers.
Things have, however, been changing for some time. In December 2019, it was announced that the Registry, the Somali Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), had re-opened. The pre-1991 legislation is again recognised, although we understand that new IP legislation (with transitional provisions that will recognise existing rights) is in the pipeline. The pre-1991 legislation is the Trade Mark Law No. 3 of January 22 1955, amended by Law No. 33 of January 18 1975 and Law No. 3 of December 8 1987.