Albania has adopted a significant reform in the field
of industrial property with the new, stand-alone Law on Trademarks, which
entered into force on August 16, 2025. Previously, trademarks were regulated
under Part IV of Law No. 9947 on Industrial Property, alongside patents,
industrial designs, and other industrial property rights. The new law detaches
and replaces the trademark regulation entirely, creating a self-contained
framework. It restructures the trademark system, brings it in line with EU standards,
and introduces substantive and procedural innovations that will reshape
trademark practice in Albania. Notably, the new law aligns national legislation
with EU Regulation 2017/1001 on trademarks, Directive (EU) 2015/2436 on the
harmonization of trademark laws across Member States, and Directive 2004/48/EC
on the enforcement of intellectual property rights.
Reorganization and clarity
Aside from reorganizing, the new law provides a
detailed approach to each of the previous sections contained in Law no. 9947.
For example, it clarifies and re-orders the absolute and relative grounds for
refusal of trademark registration. Now, the absolute grounds explicitly include
traditional wine terms, guaranteed traditional specialties, and trademarks that
consist of, or reproduce in their essential elements, plant variety
denominations protected under Albanian legislation or relevant international
agreements. This reinforces the protection of agricultural products, wines, and
plant varieties in Albania.
In the area of trademark transactions, the law
explicitly regulates the procedure for registration of ownership transfers in
the official trademark register, which was not clearly set out in the previous
legislation. It also replaces the old provision on pledges with a broader
framework covering all real rights in trademarks, which may exist independently
from the commercial entity that owns the mark. Article 24 sets out detailed
procedures, deadlines, and conditions for registering these rights and their transfers,
while preserving the requirement for publication in the DPPI bulletin.
The new law further introduces a comprehensive,
uniform framework for recording all relevant rights, enforcement measures, and
contractual agreements in the official register of the DPPI, with clear
procedural safeguards and deadlines. Articles 25 and 28 update and expand the
registration of enforcement actions and licensing agreements, Article 26
introduces the registration of information on insolvency proceedings, and
Article 29 establishes the procedure for revocation or modification of licenses
and other rights in the register. This shifts the previous fragmented approach
to a standardized system, increasing transparency and legal certainty for third
parties.
Enhanced protection of trademark owners
Measures that can be taken by previous right holders
have also been strengthened. Under Article 10(4), trademark owners can now
prohibit the bringing of goods into Albania during the course of trade, even if
the goods are not intended for sale in Albania, when they come from third
countries and bear an identical or essentially indistinguishable mark without
authorization. This right ceases only if the holder of the goods proves that
the trademark owner cannot prohibit their placement on the market in the final
destination country. This novelty brings Albanian law in line with EU
anti-counterfeiting policy, enabling trademark owners to prevent counterfeit
goods transit through Albania. Furthermore, Article 11 provides for trademark
owners to stop preparatory acts involving packaging, labels, or authenticity
devices if these could be used for infringing goods or services. This empowers
rights holders to intervene earlier in the counterfeiting chain, targeting
suppliers of infringing materials before the goods are completed or marketed.
Alignment with international standards, the Madrid
System and WIPO
A major innovation is the detailed procedural
framework for the international registration of trademarks under the Madrid
System, which connects directly to Albania’s alignment with international and
EU trademark practice. The new law regulates both outbound applications—filed
in Albania for protection abroad—and inbound international registrations
designating Albania. It sets clear timelines, defines the division of
responsibilities between the DPPI and the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO), and provides procedures for refusals, oppositions, and
extensions of protection. By doing so, it ensures Albanian trademark holders
can secure cross-border protection efficiently, while foreign rights holders
have clarity on how their marks will be examined and enforced in Albania.
Overall, the new law represents a comprehensive overhaul of Albania’s trademark framework, bringing it into closer harmony with European standards, reinforcing and improving existing mechanisms, and providing modern, transparent procedures for both domestic and international trademark protection.
This article was co-authored by Kujtesa Nezaj-Shehu and Morea Pula and was originally published in New Law on Trademarks enters into force in Albania
