Malta Trade Marks

When a Malta trade mark is the right choice

If your business trades only in Malta, or a conflict elsewhere in the EU makes an EU trade mark risky, a national registration can be the better route. Malta trade marks are governed by the Trademarks Act (Cap. 597), which transposes the EU Trade Mark Directive.¹ Applications are examined and registered by the Industrial Property Registrations Directorate within the Commerce Department.²

The process

1. Search and filing. We check the Malta and EU registers for earlier rights, then file. Malta operates a single-class system, so each class is a separate application.³

2. Examination. The office checks the formalities and absolute grounds, such as distinctiveness.⁴

3. Publication and opposition. Accepted applications are published in the IP Online Journal. Third parties then have 90 days to oppose.² If an opposition is filed, the parties can jointly ask for up to 90 working days to settle.⁵

4. Registration. A Malta trade mark is registered for ten years from the filing date and can be renewed for further ten-year periods.⁶

Applicants based outside the European Economic Area must give the office an address for official communications within the EEA.⁷

Keeping your registration in good order

We file renewals in the six months before expiry. A late renewal is possible in the six months after expiry, with an additional fee.⁸ We record assignments and licences on the register,⁹ and advise on use: a mark not genuinely used in Malta for a continuous five-year period is liable to revocation.¹⁰

Sources
1. Trademarks Act, Chapter 597 of the Laws of Malta, Art. 2(2)
2. Commerce Department, Latest publications (IP Online Journal); Trademark Rules, S.L. 597.04
3. Chambers, Intellectual Property 2026: Malta
4. Trademarks Act, Arts. 5 and 48
5. Ibid., Art. 50(2)
6. Ibid., Art. 57
7. Ibid., Art. 55
8. Ibid., Art. 58(3)
9. Ibid., Art. 35(2)
10. Ibid., Art. 29(1)