• which have come into general use to denote goods of a particular type;
• that represent generally accepted symbols and terms;
• indicating the nature, quality, quantity, characteristics, purpose and value of the goods, and the place and time of their manufacture or sale;
• representing international non-patented names of medicines;
• having a direct descriptive and/or associative connection with the goods or services for which they are used.

These designations may be used as unprotected elements of a trademark, provided that they do not occupy a dominant position within it.

Designations that reproduce state coats of arms, flags and emblems, abbreviated or full names of international organizations and their coats of arms, flags and emblems, official inspection, guarantee and test stamps, seals, Olympic symbols, awards and other insignia, as well as designations that are confusingly similar to them, are not registered as trademarks.

Such designations may be used as non-protected elements if the designation does not consist solely of them and if the relevant competent authority or their owner has consented to their use.

• which are false or likely to mislead as to the product, its manufacturer, the service or the person providing the service, or as to the geographical location of the product;
• formally indicating the true place of production of the product, but giving the false impression that the product comes from another territory;
• which represent or contain the names of geographical objects identifying mineral waters, wines or spirits, in order to designate such goods which do not originate in that place, and which, when translated or described, are accompanied by expressions such as "type", "style" or the like;
• which are contrary to public interest, principles of humanity and morality.

The following designations are not subject to registration as trademarks if they are identical or confusingly similar:

• with trademarks registered in the Republic of Kazakhstan and protected by virtue of international agreements with an earlier priority in the name of another person for similar goods or services, or with identical trademarks of the same person for the same goods or services, with the exception of trademarks whose registration has been declared invalid or has been terminated;
• with trademarks recognized in accordance with the established procedure and generally known in the Republic of Kazakhstan for all types of goods and services;
• with designations applied for registration with an earlier priority in the name of another person in respect of similar goods or services (unless withdrawn and cancelled) or with identical designations of the same person in respect of the same goods or services.

The registration of a designation as a trademark in respect of similar goods or services, which are confusingly similar to any of the trademarks referred to in the preceding subparagraphs, is permitted subject to the written consent of the owner of the trademark. (If the owner is a legal entity, the written consent must be submitted on company letterhead, signed by an authorized person and stamped by the legal entity (if any), and if the owner is an individual, the signature must be notarized).

• with the names of places of origin of goods protected in the Republic of Kazakhstan for any goods, except in cases when they can be included as an unprotected element of a trademark registered in the name of the owner of the right to use this appellation of origin, if the trademark is registered for the same goods for the individualization of which the appellation of origin is registered the product.

Designations reproducing the following are not registered as trademarks:

• industrial designs protected in the Republic of Kazakhstan in the name of other persons, subject to their earlier priority;
• the names of works of literature, science and art known in the Republic of Kazakhstan on the date of application, known works of art and their fragments in violation of copyright;
• surnames, first names, pseudonyms and derivatives thereof, portraits and facsimiles in violation of the personal non-property rights of such persons, their heirs or legal successors, as well as, if these designations are the property of the history and culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan - without the permission of the relevant competent authority.

The reason for refusal of registration of a designation as a trademark, which represents the heritage of history and culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is the lack of coordination with the authorized body in the field of culture.

The grounds for refusal also apply to designations that have been applied for legal protection in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan as trademarks in accordance with international treaties ratified by the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The application is submitted through an authorized organization (National Institute of Intellectual Property) under Committee on Intellectual Property Rights of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan or through the e-Government portal (www.egov.kz) . The application for the provision of the public service "Trademark registration" is submitted through the e-Government portal (www.egov.kz) in accordance with:

• the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan as of July 26, 1999 No. 456 "On trademarks, service marks and names of places of origin of goods";
• Order of the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan as of October 11, 2018 No. 1481. Registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan on October 16, 2018 No. 17557 |On Approval of Standards of public services in the field of protection of intellectual property rights";
• Order of the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan as of August 29, 2018 No. 1349. Registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan on October 2, 2018 No. 17459"On approval of the Rules for the Examination of Applications for Breeding Achievements, Objects of Industrial Property, Trademarks and Names of Places of Origin of Goods, Registration of Topologies of Integrated Circuits".

The application should relate to a single trademark.

The application should contain the following:

• a request for an expert examination of the designation, indicating the name of an applicant as well as his/her place of residence or registered office;
• claimed designation;
• a list of goods and/or services according to the International Classification of Goods and Services.

The following should be enclosed to an application:

• a copy of the document confirming the payment for the examination;
• a copy of the power of attorney in case of applying through a representative;
• the charter of a collective trademark (in the case of filing an application for a collective trademark), including the name of the organization authorized to register a collective trademark in its name, the purpose of registration of this mark, the list of entities entitled to use this mark, the list and uniform qualities or other characteristics of goods and services that will be designated by the collective trademark, the conditions of its use, the procedure for monitoring its use, liability for violating the provisions of the charter of the collective trademark.

The application and supporting documents must be submitted in Kazakh or Russian. If the documents are submitted in another language, the applicant shall submit their translation into Kazakh or Russian within one month.

The filing date of the application is determined by the date on which the application that meets the requirements of the preceding paragraphs is received by the authorized organization, or, if the specified documents are not submitted simultaneously, by the date on which the last of the documents submitted is received.

You can apply independently to the National Institute of Intellectual Property under the Committee on Intellectual Property Rights of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan or through a patent attorney. The application and supporting documents may be submitted in Kazakh or Russian. This is followed by three stages: a preliminary examination, a full examination, and the registration of the trademark itself.

• preliminary examination – within one month from the date of application submission;
• full examination – within seven months from the date of application submission;
• accelerated examination – within three months from the date of application submission;
• based on the final conclusion, the authorized organization makes a decision on registration, partial registration or refusal to register a trademark.

At any stage of the examination, the authorized organization has the right to request additional materials, which must be submitted within three months of the date of the request being sent to an applicant.

If the applicant fails to submit any additional material or request an extension of the time limit within the prescribed period, the action will be terminated and the application will be deemed to be withdrawn.

The applicant pays for the services of the authorized organization for trademark registration within three months from the date of notification of the decision on registration or partial registration. If a document of payment for the specified service is not submitted, the trademark application will be deemed to be withdrawn and the action on it will be terminated.

• Trademark registration is valid for ten years from the date of filing an application.
• The validity period of a trademark registration is renewed for ten-year periods at the request of the proprietor submitted during the last year of its validity. Information on the extension of the period of validity of the trademark registration is entered into the State Register of Trademarks and the certificate within ten working days from the date of receipt of the application at the authorized organization.
• The time limit for filing an application may be reinstated at the request of the proprietor, submitted within six months after the expiry of the registration period.