INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Intellectual Property (IP) Protection in Cyprus

There is a comprehensive system set up in place to guarantee that the IP rights are protected at a National, European and International level.

Trademarks / Logos / Designs

If you aim to protect your Trademark/Logo/Design you may succeed this in Cyprus through the following ways:

1. Registration at the Cyprus Registrar of Companies offering protection at a National level.

• An Application is made for approval of the proposed Trade Mark at the Registrar of Cyprus.
• This procedure usually takes 5-6 months.
• If the Registrar approves the Trade Mark it takes a further 2-3 years for the Trade Mark to be published in the Republic’s Gazette (there are thousands of pending Trade Marks).
• After publication there is a two month period in which the Trade Mark can be contested.
• If there are no objections within this period the Trade mark is registered and the Trade Mark Certificate is issued by the Registrar.

2. Registration at the Community Trade Mark Office via Cyprus, which offers protection throughout the territory of the European Union.

• Application at the Community Trade Mark Office in Alicante.
• Registration for a Euro Mark allows Trade Mark protection across all EU territory.
• Domestic application, within a Member State, is still possible even where a Euro Mark has been granted.

3. Registration at the International Bureau of the of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), while Cyprus being part of the Madrid Protocol and a signatory of the Paris Treaty, which offers international protection.

• Application must be filed at the Office of Origin (i.e. Cyprus) for World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) registration under the Madrid Protocol, which secures protection for your mark in several countries.
• An international application under the Madrid Protocol may be filed by any person who has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment or a domicile in, or who is a national of, one of the countries party to the Protocol.

Before a trade mark can be the subject of an international application, it must already have been registered, or registration must have been applied for, for the same class goods or services with the trademark registration office of a country party of the Madrid Protocol

TAX BENEFITS

By utilising IP rights / Royalty rights a Cyprus Company may have significant tax benefits under the new IP Regime. Under the new IP Regime the effective tax rate for royalty income can be 2 per cent or less. For more information and practical examples visit Cyprus royalty company page.