A.55
84. The rights in a mark may be transferred by cession, assignment,
testamentary disposition or by operation of law.
85. (1) The registration in respect of a mark shall expire 10 years after
the filing date of the application for its registration, but may, upon the written
request and payment of the prescribed renewal fee, be renewed for
consecutive periods of 10 years.
(2) Where the owner of a registered mark is late in paying the renewal
fee, the Registrar shall, upon payment of such surcharge as may be prescribed,
give him or her a period of grace of six months within which he or she must
pay the late renewal fee.
(3) The rights of a registered owner shall lapse immediately after the
expiry of the six months grace period.
86. (1) Any interested person may apply to the Registrar for the
invalidation of the registration of a mark on the grounds specified in section
74 (2) or on the grounds that the definition of a mark as specified under this
Act has not been satisfied.
(2) An application for the invalidation of a registration of a mark shall
be served on the owner of the mark in the prescribed manner.
(3) Any invalidation of the registration of a mark shall be deemed to
have been effective from the date of registration of the mark and a reference
thereto shall be published by the Registrar in the Journal as soon as possible.
87. (1) Any interested person may make an application to the Registrar
to remove, from the register, a mark in respect of any of the goods or services
in respect of which it is registered on the ground that up to one month prior
to filing the application, the mark had, after its registration, not been used in
Botswana by the registered owner or a licensee during a continuous period
of three or more years.
(2) The Registrar shall not remove a mark from the register if the owner
of the mark shows that circumstances existed which prevented the use of
the mark and that there was no intention not to use the mark in respect of
those goods or services, or that there was no intention to abandon the use of
the mark in respect of the said goods or services.
(3) An application for the removal of a mark from the register of
marks shall be served on the owner and filed with the Registrar in the
manner and within the time prescribed.
88. (1) An owner of a mark who loses rights on the mark under
section 85 or 87 may apply, within two months, to the Registrar for the
reinstatement of his or her rights on the mark, giving reasons.
(2) The Registrar may reinstate the rights of the owner of the mark
where it emerges that failure to comply with the time limit occurred
regardless of due care as required by the circumstances having been
taken, subject to payment of a re-instatement fee.
Transfer of
rights in mark
Duration and
renewal of
registration of
mark
Invalidation
of registration
of mark
Removal of
mark on
grounds of
non-use
Reinstatement
of lapsed
mark rights