Two things about Pakistani renewals surprise people managing a regional portfolio. The registration term is not the same for every mark — it depends on when the application was filed. And at the second renewal, the Registry wants evidence that the mark has actually been used.
Quick reference
| Filed on or after 12 April 2004 | 10 years from registration, renewable in ten-year terms |
| Filed before 12 April 2004 | 7 years, then renewable for 15 years from expiry of the original registration or last renewal |
| Renewal request | Form TM-12, within the six months ending on the expiry date |
| After expiry | Non-payment is advertised; renewal is still possible within six months of that advertisement, with an additional fee |
| Evidence of use | From the second renewal onwards the Registrar may require it |
| Non-payment | The mark is removed from the register |
| After removal | Treated as still on the register for one year when citing against later applications |
| Restoration | Form TM-13, within six months of removal, at the Registrar’s discretion |
Two term regimes
The Trade Marks Ordinance, 2001 came into force on 12 April 2004, and the registration term turns on which side of that date the application was filed.
Filed on or after 12 April 2004 — registration runs for ten years from the date of registration and is renewed in ten-year terms. This is the regime that applies to everything filed in the last two decades.
Filed before 12 April 2004 — registration ran for seven years, and renewal is for fifteen years from the expiry of the original registration or of the last renewal.
For a long-held portfolio this matters. A docketing system that applies a uniform ten-year cycle to every Pakistani mark will generate wrong dates for the legacy ones, and a renewal date that is wrong in the wrong direction means a lapsed registration.
When renewal is due
A renewal request is made on Form TM-12 within the six months ending on the date the registration expires. The Registrar also sends a reminder, no earlier than six months and no later than one month before expiry — which is only as useful as the address on the register, so keep that current.
If the deadline is missed, the mark is not removed immediately. Where the renewal fee has not been paid at expiry, the Registrar advertises the non-payment in the Journal, and if the renewal request and fee, together with the prescribed additional fee, arrive within six months of that advertisement, the registration is renewed without being removed. Only after that does removal follow.
A mark registered shortly before, or after, its renewal date falls due has its own timetable in the Rules, which turns on the actual date of registration rather than the due date. If a Pakistani registration certificate arrives with a renewal date that looks already past, that is the provision to check rather than a reason to panic.
Evidence of use, from the second renewal onwards
This is the obligation that catches defensively held marks. The Ordinance puts it carefully: except at the time of the first renewal, the Registrar may require the renewal request to be accompanied by evidence of use of the mark in Pakistan.
Two things follow from that wording. It is a power, not an automatic condition — but it is a power the Registry does use in practice, and a proprietor who cannot answer it is exposed. And it applies from the second renewal onwards, not only at the second. Sri Lanka has a comparable requirement, and in both countries it arrives long after the mark was filed.
The practical consequence is that it has to be planned for, not reacted to. By the time a second renewal falls due the mark has been on the register for many years, and assembling credible evidence of use retrospectively — invoices, advertising, packaging, dated sales records — is far harder than keeping a file as you go.
For a mark held defensively and never launched in Pakistan, this is the point at which the strategy has to be confronted rather than deferred.
Removal, and the year afterwards
Where the renewal fee is not paid, the mark is removed from the register.
Removal is not immediately a clean slate for everyone else. For the purpose of registering a later mark, a removed registration continues to be treated as a mark already on the register for one year after removal. A competitor who sees a lapse and files immediately may still meet the old mark as a citation.
Restoration
The Registrar may restore a registration removed for non-payment — on a request on Form TM-13, filed within six months of the date of removal, with the renewal fee and the restoration fee, and only where, having regard to the circumstances of the failure to renew, the Registrar is satisfied it is just to do so.
Two limits sit in that. The six months is a hard outer edge, so a removal discovered a year later is not a restoration case at all. And “just to do so” is a discretion exercised on the reason for the failure, which means the explanation matters.
Restoration is a remedy, not a plan. The conditions, the fees and the uncertainty all cost more than the renewal would have, and a restored registration may come with conditions attached. A diarised renewal date is cheaper than every version of this.
What to keep track of
- The filing date of every Pakistani mark, because it determines the term.
- Which renewal is coming — the second one carries the evidence requirement.
- A use file, maintained from launch rather than assembled at renewal.
- Each class separately. Pakistan registers one class per application, so a mark in four classes has four registrations and four renewal dates, which may not align.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a trademark registration last in Pakistan? It depends on the filing date. Applications filed on or after 12 April 2004 are registered for ten years and renewed in ten-year terms. Applications filed before that date ran for seven years and are renewable for fifteen years from expiry of the original registration or the last renewal.
Why do some Pakistani marks have a different renewal cycle? Because the Trade Marks Ordinance, 2001 took effect on 12 April 2004 and changed the term. Older marks stay on the earlier regime, so a uniform ten-year assumption across a legacy portfolio produces wrong dates.
Is evidence of use required to renew a trademark in Pakistan? From the second renewal onwards the Registrar may require it — the Ordinance excepts only the first renewal. It is a power rather than an automatic condition, but it is used in practice, so the evidence should be collected as the mark is used rather than reconstructed years later. Invoices, packaging and advertising are the usual proof.
What happens if I miss a renewal in Pakistan? Not removal straight away. The Registrar advertises the non-payment, and renewal is still possible within six months of that advertisement on payment of an additional fee. After that the mark is removed — though for one year it is still treated as on the register when examining later applications, and restoration remains available for six months at the Registrar’s discretion.
Can a removed trademark be restored in Pakistan? Yes, on Form TM-13 within six months of removal, with the renewal fee and the restoration fee, and only where the Registrar is satisfied it is just to do so given the circumstances of the failure. After those six months there is no restoration route.
Does one renewal cover all my classes? No. Pakistan files and registers one class per application, so each class is a separate registration with its own renewal.
Useful official resources
- Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan — renewal forms and fees
See our related notes on trademark protection in Pakistan, filing a trademark in Pakistan and infringement and enforcement.
A Pakistani portfolio with legacy marks, or a second renewal approaching without a use file? Talk to us.