Well-known mark protection matters more in the Maldives than almost anywhere, for a simple reason: until 11 November 2026 there was nowhere to register. Every international brand trading there is, by definition, unregistered.
The Act protects well-known marks and makes conflict with one a ground of opposition — without requiring the owner to hold a Maldivian registration. For the next two years that is the main line of defence for a great many brands.
Quick reference
| Maldivian registration required? | No |
| Where it operates | Grounds of opposition, and of cancellation after registration |
| Against what | An application or registration conflicting with the well-known mark |
| Criteria for well-known status | Not published — awaiting regulations and practice |
| Paris Convention | The Maldives is not a member |
| Relationship to filing | A fallback, not a substitute |
Why it carries so much weight here
Every other country in the region has had a register for decades, so a well-known mark provision is a supplement — something for the brand that could have registered and did not, or that needs protection beyond its own goods.
In the Maldives it is the opposite. Until commencement, no brand could register. So on 11 November 2026 the entire international presence in the market — hotel groups, beverage and food brands, luxury goods, equipment suppliers — holds no statutory rights, and well-known status is the only thing standing between them and an opportunistic filing.
That is the context in which to read the provision: not as a refinement, but as the principal protection for unregistered international brands during the transition.
Where it operates
Conflict with a well-known mark is among the grounds on which a published application may be opposed, and the opposition grounds also support cancellation after registration.
So the two live uses are:
Opposing a filing. Within the three-month window from publication. See trademark opposition.
Cancelling a registration. Where the window was missed. Slower and costlier, and the mark sits registered meanwhile. See trademark cancellation.
It often runs alongside bad faith, and in transition-era disputes the two will usually be pleaded together: the mark is well known, and the applicant knew it.
No Paris Convention
A point of real significance, and a difference from every neighbouring country.
Well-known mark protection internationally rests on Article 6bis of the Paris Convention, and the statutes in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India all tie their provisions to Convention membership in one way or another. Pakistan’s section 86, for instance, defines a well-known mark by reference to the Convention and to nationals of Convention countries.
The Maldives is not a Paris Convention member. Its well-known mark protection therefore stands on its own statutory footing rather than on Convention machinery.
In practice that is unlikely to change the substance much — the concept is the same — but it means the interpretive material a tribunal would reach for is less obvious, and arguments built on Convention practice may land differently.
What is not yet settled
Considerably more than is settled. In particular:
- The criteria. Sri Lanka lists nine statutory factors; Bangladesh specifies knowledge in the relevant sector including knowledge from promotion; Pakistan lists seven. What the Maldives will look at is not published.
- Whose knowledge counts — the public at large, or the relevant sector of trade and consumers.
- Whether reputation must exist in the Maldives, or whether international recognition suffices. This is the question that matters most for a brand with no local sales.
- Whether protection extends to dissimilar goods, and on what conditions.
- Whether any register or list of well-known marks will be maintained.
Until the regulations and the first decisions, these are open. Anyone stating a confident test today is extrapolating from neighbouring law.
Building the case anyway
The evidence a well-known case needs is broadly the same everywhere, so it can be assembled now without waiting for the criteria:
- Registrations worldwide, with dates, and the trading behind them.
- Reach into the Maldives — advertising, regional media, online presence, and anything showing Maldivian consumers or trade encountering the brand.
- Any Maldivian footprint at all, even without sales: distributor approaches, enquiries, resort supply arrangements, press.
- Cautionary notices published, with dates and publications — dated public assertions of the claim.
- Recognition findings from other jurisdictions. Where another authority has held the mark well known, that is persuasive material.
- Valuations and rankings, where they exist.
A fallback, not a plan
The honest summary: well-known status is what you fall back on when someone else filed first. It is slower, costlier and less certain than a registration, and the criteria are not yet known.
The brands that will rely on it during the transition are the ones that did not file early in the twelve-month window. Filing is cheaper than proving fame. See the transition to registration.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Maldivian registration to rely on well-known status? No. Conflict with a well-known mark is a ground of opposition and of cancellation, and it does not require you to hold a Maldivian registration.
What makes a mark well known in the Maldives? Not yet published. The criteria await the implementing regulations and early practice; neighbouring statutes set out detailed factor lists, but those do not bind the Maldives.
Does the Paris Convention apply? No. The Maldives is not a Paris Convention member, so its well-known mark protection rests on the Act itself rather than on Convention machinery.
Does my international reputation count if I have never sold in the Maldives? That is precisely the open question. Whether reputation must exist locally or international recognition suffices is not settled.
Is there a list of well-known marks? None is published. Whether MIPO will maintain one is unknown.
Should I rely on this instead of filing? No. It is a fallback for when someone else filed first. Filing early in the transition window is cheaper and far more certain than proving fame.
Useful official resources
- Maldives Intellectual Property Office
- Maldives Government Gazette — the Act as published
- Trademarks Act, Law No. 19/2025
See our related notes on trademark opposition, the transition to registration and marks that cannot be registered.
An international brand in the Maldivian market with nothing on the register? Talk to us.