Maldives Introduces New Trademark Registration Regime
The Trademark Act1 was gazetted on 11 November 2025, establishing a statutory framework for the registration and protection of trademarks in the Maldives for the first time. This development strengthens the protection of intellectual property rights in the Maldives addressing a previously unregulated area of intellectual property law.
As a significant development under the Trademark Act, foreign entities may directly apply to register trademarks in the Maldives without a requirement to register its business locally, and can benefit from the protections and remedies afforded by the law.
The development follows the earlier publication of Maldives Intellectual Property Office Act (MIPO Act) which created the Maldives Intellectual Property Office (MIPO), tasked with the registration and administration of intellectual property in the Maldives.
While the MIPO Act is scheduled to come into force on 1 January 2026, the Trademark Act will commence on 11 November 2026.
Protection of trademarks
Trademarks are generally defined as any sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings.
Exclusive rights in the trademarks are conferred on the proprietor upon registration under the Trademark Act. The proprietor is entitled to prevent the use of any infringing mark in relation to the goods or services for which the trademark is registered, or where such use would imply an association with those goods or services.
For existing trademarks registered with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, the proprietors are required to file a regularisation application within 12 months from the commencement date of the Trademark Act (before 11 November 2027).
The Trademark Act also provides for the registration and use of certification marks and collective marks.
Parties entitled to register a trademark in the Maldives
The Trademark Act permits foreign persons and foreign entities to register trademarks in the Maldives. This notable development marks a departure from previous practice, under which foreign proprietors could not directly procure local registration and typically relied on cautionary notices or registrations held by local licensees.
Applicants may also appoint local representation in connection with all matters relating to the Trademark Act.
Trademarks will be registered in the name of the applicant who first files a valid application with the Registrar of Intellectual Property (the “Registrar of IP”), or by any person who has a duly established right of priority.
Rights of priority
The Trademark Act entitles applicants seeking to register trademarks in the Maldives to apply to the Registrar of IP for priority for their applications as follows.
| Foreign Priority | Exhibition Priority |
| If an applicant has applied to register the trademark under the same class of goods and services in a member state of either the Paris Convention or the World Trade Organisation at the time of the local application, the applicant can claim for foreign priority for the local registration within 6 months from the date of the foreign application.
If the claim is successful, the filing date of the location application will be deemed to be the filing date of the foreign application. |
If the applicant has exhibited goods or services under a specific mark at an official exhibition or a formally recognised international exhibition, the applicant can claim for exhibition priority for the local registration within 6 months from the date on which the goods or services were first exhibited.
If the claim is successful, the filing date of the location application will be deemed to be the date on which the goods or the services were first exhibited. |
Application process
We have summarised processes for the registration of trademarks and for the modification of trademark registrations.
| Publication of applications and notices of objection | Applicants are required to file applications for the registration of the trademarks with the Registrar of IP, who is required to publish and publicise all complete applications.
Any member of the public can object to the application by submitting a notice of objection within 3 (three) months from the date of publication. The notice must specify the relevant grounds for the objection as provided in the Trademark Act, which primarily concern similarity with existing registered marks. Applicants can respond to a notice of objection within 3 (three) months from the date on which the Registrar of IP informs the applicant that an objection has been filed. |
| Registration period | Trademarks will be registered for an initial period of 10 (ten) years. |
| Renewal of registration | The registration of a trademark may be renewed for an additional period of 10 (ten) years by submitting a renewal application before the registration expires, together with the payment of the renewal fee to be prescribed in the regulations made under the Trademark Act.
A renewal application can also be submitted within 6 (six) months from expiry of the registration of a trademark. In such cases, a late filing fee will be payable in addition to the renewal fee. |
| Ownership and licensing | The Registrar of IP is required to maintain records of changes in the ownership of registered trademarks and licences granted for the use of registered trademarks.
Licensing agreements are also required to be registered with the Registrar of IP. Licensing agreements can only impact on third-party rights if they have been registered with the Registrar of IP. |
| Amendments to the registration | Typographical or administrative errors in a trademark registration can be corrected by the Registrar of IP. However, errors that affect the rights granted by virtue of the registration of the trademark can only be amended through the courts. |
| Cancellation | The registration of a trademark may be cancelled by a court or by the Registrar of IP if it is established that the registered mark does not qualify for registration as a trademark under the Act.
The registration of the whole or any part of a trademark may also be cancelled by either a court or by the Registrar of IP if an interested party, in a complaint or claim filed with the relevant authority, demonstrates that the trademark is barred from registration due to similarity with existing registered trademarks as provided in the Trademark Act. Except for claims that a mark was registered in bad faith, complaints and claims by interested parties to cancel the registration of a mark must be filed within 5 (five) years from registration. |
| Revocation | Interested parties may also file a claim with the Registrar of IP or the relevant court for the revocation of the registration of a trade mark if:
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Trademark infringement
Civil remedies to trademark infringement
The proprietor of a trademark may file a claim for trademark infringement within 5 (five) years from the date on which the infringement came to the proprietor’s knowledge, or from the date on which the infringement reasonably ought to have come to the proprietor’s knowledge. In such a claim, the proprietor may seek:
- Injunctive relief if there is a possibility of irreparable harm or the destruction of evidence;
- Damages for compensation of losses suffered due to the infringement and/or for an order for costs;
- Orders for the destruction of infringing goods or the raw materials used for their production, or for the recall of infringing goods from the market; and
- Order requiring the disclosure of information of third parties involved in the production and marketing of the infringing goods.
Remedies in connection with imported goods
If the proprietor of a registered trademark suspects that any goods being imported to the Maldives will infringe their rights in the registered trademark, the proprietor may apply to the Maldives Customs Service (the “MCS”) for the suspension of the clearance procedures of the infringing goods and for their seizure.
Applicants may also file a claim at the courts in connection with the infringing goods seized by the MCS. If the court is satisfied that goods being imported infringe the rights of a proprietor in their trademark, the court may:
- Order the destruction of the goods; or
- Order the recall or withdrawal of the goods from all commercial transactions on the market through the proprietor of the trademark, as determined by the courts.
Criminal offences and penalties
It is an offence to carry out any of the following acts without the trademark proprietor’s consent, where such acts go beyond personal use and can reasonably be considered to be for commercial purposes:
- Counterfeiting the mark;
- Use of a counterfeit mark on goods or in connection with services;
- Possessing or maintaining items used to counterfeit the mark or the primary use of which is deemed to be to affix the counterfeit mark on goods;
- Conducting business in counterfeit goods; or
- Importing or exporting counterfeit goods to or from the Maldives.
This offence is punishable by a fine between MVR100,000 (One Hundred Thousand Maldivian Rufiyaa) and MVR2,000,000 (Two Million Maldivian Rufiyaa).
Establishment of the MIPO
As a concurrent new change, MIPO will be established on 1 January 2026 upon commencement of the MIPO Act. The office is tasked with the protection, development, and administration of intellectual property rights in the Maldives.
The office, which falls under the purview of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, will be headed by the Registrar of IP, appointed for a five-year term, renewable once.
Applications for the registration of intellectual property in the Maldives will be made to the Registrar of IP. The MIPO Act also mandates the maintenance of a public Register of Intellectual Property.
Effective Date
The Trademark Act will be effective on 11 November 2026.
