New Decision on Trademarks Clarifies Procedures

On 30 May 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce issued Decision on Trademarks No. 0874 (the “Trademark Decision 2025”), replacing its previous decision on trademarks issued in 2023. The Trademark Decision 2025 does not significantly overhaul the previous 2023 decision; rather it provides further guidelines on the trademark-related provisions of the Law on Intellectual Property No. 50/NA dated 30 November 2023. This new decision enters into effect on 4 July 2025.

Some of the key changes are outlined below.

• Required application documentation: Applicants that use a representative are not required to submit an original power of attorney; a copy is sufficient.
• Additional provisions on trademarks with foreign words: If a trademark contains foreign words, applicants must provide an accurate translation and the Lao language pronunciation.
• Renewal application deadline: Both the Trademark Decision 2025 and the previous 2023 decision provide that if the deadline for filing a renewal application falls on an official holiday or a day when the Department of Intellectual Property does not accept applications, the deadline is extended to the next working day. The Trademark Decision 2025 also addresses renewal applications submitted electronically, stating that they can be filed at any time, including on official holidays. This now creates some uncertainty as to whether the deadline for electronic applications will also be allowed to be the next working day.
• Applicant representative changes: The Trademark Decision 2025 removes the reference to “co-creators” with regard to the trademark registration application and instead refers only to an authorized representative of the trademark owner.
  It also removes the option for licensed lawyers to act independently as the representative of a foreign applicant, specifying instead that only agent companies—including law firms—providing trademark registration services and registered with the Department of Intellectual Property may act on their behalf. This change aligns with existing practice.
• One power of attorney to cover multiple applications: The Trademark Decision 2025 removes the requirement that each application have a separate power of attorney; now a power of attorney can cover more than one application.

If you have any questions or need any professional support regarding intellectual property or trademark or patent registration in the Lao PDR. Please contact the VDB Loi Lao office: Meckhala Vilivong ([email protected]), or with the undersigned or your usual VDB Loi adviser.