This is the part of the Maldives Trademarks Act that costs people money if they read it late.
On 11 November 2026 the country switches from an informal, publication-based system to a statutory register — and to first to file. A brand that has traded in the Maldives for twenty years, with cautionary notices published the whole time, wakes up that morning holding no statutory right at all.
Quick reference
| Commencement | 11 November 2026 |
| Transition window | Twelve months from commencement |
| Who must act | Anyone relying on cautionary notices or prior use, and anyone with a mark recorded at the Ministry |
| What prior use gives you | Evidence in opposition or cancellation — not a right |
| What a cautionary notice gives you | The same: evidence, not a right |
| Basis of ownership | Filing date, or a priority claim |
| Guarantee of registration? | No |
What first to file actually means here
The Act determines ownership primarily by filing date or priority claim, not by prior commercial use.
Most trademark systems temper that with something — a prior-use defence, a bad-faith ground that bites easily, an opposition ground available to the unregistered user. The Maldives Act does have a bad faith opposition ground, and well-known mark protection, so the long-standing user is not defenceless. But the structure is clear: the register decides, and history is argued rather than asserted.
The practical consequence is a race, and the people most exposed are the ones who feel safest — established brands with a visible local presence, who have been publishing notices for years and reasonably assume that counts for something.
It counts as evidence. It is not a right.
What a cautionary notice is now worth
Past use and previously published cautionary notices may serve as evidence in opposition or cancellation proceedings. They do not create statutory rights and do not guarantee registration.
So the notices are not wasted — they are dated, published, public proof that you were using the mark in the Maldives on a particular day, which is exactly the sort of material an opposition on bad-faith or well-known grounds is built from.
Three things follow:
Find them. Pull every cautionary notice ever published for your marks, with dates and the publication they appeared in. If they exist only in a predecessor firm’s files, get them now rather than during a dispute.
Keep publishing until commencement. Until 11 November 2026, a cautionary notice is the only route available, and a gap in the record is a gap in the evidence. See cautionary notices in the Maldives.
Do not treat them as a substitute for filing. After commencement, a notice buys you an argument. A registration buys you a right.
Marks recorded at the Ministry
There is a second category of holder, often overlooked. Local companies and residents were able to record marks with the Ministry of Economic Development after securing business-name registration — a limited local recordal that foreign owners could not use.
Those proprietors are reported to need a regularisation application within the same twelve months from commencement to bring the mark onto the new register.
If you hold anything recorded at the Ministry, treat it as requiring action rather than as automatically carried across. This is a point to confirm with MIPO once the regulations issue, since the mechanics are not yet published.
Why twelve months is shorter than it sounds
The window runs from 11 November 2026 to 11 November 2027. Two things compress it.
The regulations are not out. Forms, fees and classification are due within six months of commencement — so potentially as late as May 2027. Filing may not be practically possible from day one, which means the usable part of the window could be half of it.
Everyone files at once. Every brand in the Maldivian market, local and foreign, has the same deadline. A new office processing its first-ever intake, with regulations fresh, will not be fast.
Being early in that queue is worth more than it normally would be, because in a first-to-file system the queue position is the right.
The scenario to plan against
Someone — a distributor, a competitor, an opportunist watching the commencement date — files your mark on 11 November 2026. You file in March 2027.
They hold the statutory right. You hold cautionary notices and invoices.
Your routes are opposition, if you catch the publication inside the three-month window, or cancellation afterwards. Both are argued on bad faith or well-known mark grounds, using your history as evidence. Both are slower and more expensive than having filed first, and neither is certain.
The cost of avoiding that scenario is one application filed early. The cost of being in it is a dispute in a brand-new system with no case law.
What to have ready before 11 November
- The list of marks, decided and prioritised — which are essential, which are defensive.
- The goods and services, drafted. Classification detail awaits the regulations, but the substance of what you sell does not.
- A clear representation of each mark, with any colour claim decided, since the Act requires colour to be expressly declared.
- The evidence file: cautionary notices with dates and publications, invoices, advertising, distribution agreements, first use in the Maldives.
- Ownership tidied. If the mark sits with a group company or was assigned informally, fix the chain before filing rather than explaining it later.
- A watch on MIPO for the regulations and the opening of filing.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the transition period? Twelve months from commencement — from 11 November 2026 to 11 November 2027.
Do my cautionary notices carry over automatically? No. They do not create statutory rights and do not guarantee registration. They may be used as evidence in opposition or cancellation proceedings.
I have traded in the Maldives for years. Am I protected? Not by that alone. The Act determines ownership by filing date, so prior use is evidence rather than a right. Filing early in the window is the protection.
What if someone else files my mark first? You would be opposing within three months of publication, or seeking cancellation afterwards, on grounds such as bad faith or well-known mark status — using your trading history as evidence.
I have a mark recorded with the Ministry of Economic Development. Is that enough? It is reported that such proprietors must file a regularisation application within the twelve months. Confirm the mechanics with MIPO once the regulations issue.
Can I file before 11 November 2026? No. The Act commences on that date, and the office is not accepting applications under it before then. Until commencement, a cautionary notice is the only available step.
Useful official resources
- Maldives Intellectual Property Office — regulations and filing, as they issue
- Maldives Government Gazette — the Act as published
- Trademarks Act, Law No. 19/2025
See our related notes on trademark protection in the Maldives, cautionary notices and trademark opposition.
Holding a Maldivian brand built on cautionary notices, with the window opening in weeks? Talk to us.