LAWS OF MALAWI
Trade marks
Cap. 49:01
(a)
Contains any part not separately registered by the proprietor
as a trade mark; or
(b)
Contains matter common to the trade or otherwise of a non
distinctive character;
The Registrar, or the Tribunal in the event of an appeal from a
decision of the Registrar, in deciding whether the trade mark shall be
entered or shall remain on the register, may require as a condition of
its being on the register:(i)
That the proprietor shall disclaim any right to the
exclusive use of any part of the trade mark or to the
exclusive use of all or any portion of such trade
mark as aforesaid, to the exclusive use of which the
Registrar or the Tribunal holds him not to be
entitled; or
(ii)
That the proprietor shall make such other disclaimer
as the Registrar or the Tribunal may consider
necessary for the purposes of defining his rights
under the registrations:
Provided that no disclaimer on the register shall affect any
rights of the proprietor of a trade mark except such as arise
out of the registration of the trade mark in respect of which
the disclaimer is made.
20.
(1) The registration of a trade mark shall not be deemed to have become
invalid by reason only of any use, after the date of the registration, of a word or
words which the trade mark contains, or of which it consists, as the name or
description of an article or substance:
Provided that, if it is proved either:(a)
that there is a well-known and established used of the word
or words as the name or description of the article or
substance by a person or persons carrying on a trade therein,
not being use in relation to goods connected in the course of
trade with the proprietor or a registered user of the trade
mark on (in the case of a certification trade mark) goods
certified by the proprietor; or
(b)
that the article or substance was formerly manufactured
under a patent, that a period of two years or more after the
cesser of the patent has elapsed, and that the word or words
is or are the only practicable name or description of the
article or substance,
subsection (2) shall have effect.
Words used as
name
or
description of an
article
or
substance.