Below you will find the requirements you can fulfill if you want to assign your rights under a trademark or if you want to be a licensee to a trademark granted in Ethiopia. The intention to transfer rights under a trademark or a registration for a trademark shall be put in a contract and must be submitted in writing to the office to get legal effect. A trademark can be transferred with or without the business that owns it, although if the trademark is shared, all shareholders should consent to the transfer. When such request is brought to it, the office shall either register it or reject it if it feels that it is misleading to the public. A license contract hence granted, however, shall be found null and void if it doesn’t contain a provision for effective quality control for the good that is to be protected. Clauses in the license contract may also be nullified if they impose on the licensee restrictions that go beyond those provided in the law regarding trademarks.
Licensing shall confer upon the licensee, for the interval in which a trademark is effective, the use of a trademark and its consequent benefits. He shall also retain the right to renew the registration where the time limit for registration expires.
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Any pertinent information about trade mark registration and protection can be available from any Ethiopian Lawyer, Ethiopian Trade mark Lawyer, Ethiopian Copyright Lawyer or Ethiopian Intellectual Property Lawyer.
