Filing date and examination

After receiving the application, the Registration Authority shall enter the filing date on it and, within three months at most of the date of receipt of the application, examine it for compliance with the conditions set out in this Act and for conformity of the declared class(es) with the latest edition of the international classification, and shall notify the applicant of the result. Where the application is rejected, the matter may be challenged before the Board referred to in Article 23 of this Act. Where the application is accepted, the Registration Authority shall publish the contents of the application for the public within one week at most. After public publication of the application, any interested party may, in accordance with Articles 29 to 31 of this Act, file with the Registration Authority, within one month at most of the date of publication, their objection on the ground of non-compliance with the provisions of Articles 95 and 96 of this Act.

Note — The Registration Authority is obliged, within six months of the date of entry into force of this Act, to design and implement a trademark search engine based on image processing that is capable of producing a report on the degree of similarity between registered marks and applied-for marks, to use the results of the search engine for approving applications, and to create the possibility of public access to the said system for searching rejected applications.