Renewing a trademark: keeping it in force every 10 years

Unlike patents, which expire for good at the end of their term, a trademark can live with no time limit. The condition is simple, but often forgotten: the trademark must be renewed every 10 years.

10 years of protection, unlimited renewals

In Albania and in Kosovo alike, a trademark registration lasts 10 years and is renewed for successive 10-year periods, as many times as you wish. Marks such as “Coca-Cola” are more than a hundred years old precisely because they have been renewed without interruption every 10 years.

If renewal is forgotten, protection ends. The sign can become free again and someone else can register it – quite possibly a competitor.

Renewal also matters for the value of the business. An expired trademark cannot be sold, licensed or used as security in the way a trademark in force can, and anyone examining your business – a buyer, an investor or a partner – will notice. A registration renewed regularly shows a trademark that is protected and carefully managed.

How to find the expiry date

• In the office's public register, where every registered trademark shows the date its protection ends.
• On the trademark's public page on trademark.al, which you can find through the search.
• On the trademark's page in your dashboard, if the trademark was applied for through TMA.

Save the date in your calendar as soon as the trademark is registered and set a reminder many months ahead. Do not leave it to the last week: renewal also requires checking the details and paying.

What to check before renewal

The owner and the details

Is the owner still the same person or the same company? Has the name or the address changed? Changes to the name, the address or the owner's details are recorded with the “Change of Particulars” service, while passing the trademark to someone else is done with “Transfer of Ownership”. It is best to sort these out before the renewal or together with it.

Goods and services

Renewal keeps the existing registration in force, with its list of goods and services. If the business has expanded into new fields, a new application is needed for them.

Genuine use

Renewal does not protect the trademark against non-use. If the trademark has not been genuinely used for the registered goods for 5 years without a justified reason, another party can request its revocation. Keep evidence of use: invoices, catalogues, product photographs and dated advertisements.

What happens if the deadline passes

In the register the trademark may appear as “in the renewal period” or “expired”. If you have missed a deadline through no fault of your own, there is the “Restoration of a Time Limit” service, which is used precisely when a deadline was missed through no fault. Do not rely on this solution: renewing on time is always the safest route.

How to request renewal on trademark.al

1. Open “Services” and choose “Renewal” in the “Trademark Management” group.
2. Choose the trademark and, if you wish, write a note.
3. The request goes to the trademark's representative; if the trademark has no representative, to your representative for that country or to the one TMA assigns.
4. TMA sets the price – the office fee, the professional fee and the administration fee – and the request moves to “Pending payment”.
5. Pay by card or by bank transfer – the same amount, with the transaction fee included – and follow the status: every change reaches you as a notification.

If your trademark was registered before you used trademark.al, talk to your representative: representatives can ask for a trademark from the register to be linked to their portfolio, and TMA reviews the request. You will find the services explained in Services for your trademark.

One trademark, two registers, two deadlines

If you have registered the trademark both in Albania and in Kosovo, you have two independent registrations, each with its own expiry date. Renewing one does not renew the other. Keep a simple list of every trademark, the country, the registration number and the expiry date – especially when you have several trademarks or several logos.

Frequently asked questions about renewal

Can I change the logo when I renew the trademark?

Renewal keeps the trademark in force as it is registered. The “Modification of the Mark” service covers only non-substantial changes to the representation; an entirely new logo is protected with a new application. It often makes sense to renew the old trademark and apply separately for the new logo, so that protection is not interrupted.

Can I add new classes when I renew?

No. Renewal applies to the existing list of goods and services. For new fields a new application is needed, with the relevant classes.

Who carries out the renewal for me?

The trademark's representative – or, if the trademark has no representative, your representative for that country or the one TMA assigns. You request the service, pay for it and follow the status on the platform.

Should I renew a trademark I no longer use?

The decision is yours, but bear in mind that a trademark not used for 5 years can be revoked at the request of another party. If you are no longer interested in the trademark, the “Surrender” service lets you give up the right, in whole or in part.

Monitoring until expiry

When you subscribe to monitoring, you can choose the period until the trademark expires, alongside the 12-month and 120-month periods. In this way the trademark is watched for similar marks and companies throughout its period of protection. More in Trademark monitoring.