We have previously reported on the Malawian Trademarks Bill
2017. This bill officially became law on 1 October 2018, in the
form of the Trademarks Act, 2 of 2018 (the Act) – this
development was in fact only announced in an Extraordinary Gazette
dated 24 October 2018 (although signed on 21 September 2018).
As we previously reported, new trade mark legislation was long
overdue. The Act replaces the outdated Trade Marks Act 1957, which
was based on the UK Trade Marks Act 1938. The old legislation had a
number of features that are practically alien to present-day trade
mark lawyers.
Features such as:
- A very limited definition of the term
‘mark’.
- A system of registration limited to
goods - so no service mark protection.
