Sri Lankan filing is paper-based, formal, and unforgiving about a couple of things that look administrative. The requirement that trips foreign applicants most often is not a legal test at all — it is the rule that decides what your filing date actually is.
Quick reference
| Form | Form M 01, with the prescribed fee |
| Representations | Five copies of the mark |
| Classes | One per application |
| Address for service | Required in Sri Lanka for an applicant resident abroad |
| Agent | Must be a registered agent — a Sri Lankan citizen, ordinarily resident |
| Power of attorney | Required where filed through an agent |
| Date of application | Date of receipt — or the date the fee is received, if later |
| Priority | Declare on filing; certificate within three months |
| Formal defect | Three months to rectify, and the date of rectification becomes the filing date |
What goes in the application
Section 106 lists the contents:
- a request for registration of the mark;
- the applicant’s name and address and, if resident outside Sri Lanka, a postal address for service in Sri Lanka;
- five copies of a representation of the mark; and
- a clear and complete list of the particular goods or services, with the corresponding class in the international classification.
Where the application is filed through an agent, it must be accompanied by a power of attorney granted to that agent.
The representation
The Regulations are specific, and the detail is worth following rather than improvising.
Where the mark consists of letters, words, numerals or punctuation and no special graphic features are claimed, those elements may simply be typed into the space on the form. Any other two-dimensional mark is affixed as a representation.
Where the mark is three-dimensional, the application must say so, and the representation must comprise at least two aspects of the mark sufficient to illustrate its shape and features.
A representation must not exceed 10 centimetres by 10 centimetres, and where it is larger than the space on the form it goes on a separate A4 sheet appended to the form.
Language
Where the mark contains words in a language other than Sinhala, Tamil or English, a translation into English must accompany the application, certified as correct by a sworn translator.
The same applies to supporting documents. Where a priority application or an exhibition certificate is in another language, the Director-General may require a certified translation within three months of the application.
For a brand filing with a transliterated or non-Latin element, the sworn translation is a lead-time item. It is not something an agent can produce on the day of filing.
The date of your application
This is the provision to understand before you file.
The date of the application is the date of its receipt at the office — but where the fee is received on a later date than the application, that later date is deemed to be the date of the application.
So an application lodged without the fee does not hold the earlier date. In a first-to-file system where the register decides most contests, a few days matter.
There is a second route to the same problem. If the application fails the formal requirements, the Director-General notifies the defect and allows three months to rectify it — and section 110(3) says the date on which the applicant rectifies the defect is deemed to be the date of receipt of the application. A formal defect does not just delay the file; it moves the date you are relying on.
Getting the formalities right at the outset is therefore worth more in Sri Lanka than in a jurisdiction where the filing date is fixed on lodgement.
Agents and address for service
An applicant resident outside Sri Lanka must give a postal address for service in Sri Lanka, and it is recorded on the register.
Representation is also restricted. A registered agent must be a citizen of Sri Lanka, ordinarily resident in Sri Lanka, and either an Attorney-at-Law of the Supreme Court or a person holding the prescribed qualifications. A company or firm may act as agent if a majority of its directors or partners are registered agents. Registration as an agent lasts three years and is renewable.
The practical consequence is that a foreign brand owner cannot file directly or instruct a foreign firm to file. Local representation is structural, not optional.
Claiming priority
An applicant wishing to rely on an earlier Convention filing must file in Sri Lanka within six months of it and append a written declaration stating the date and number of the earlier application, the name of the applicant and the country.
A certified copy of the earlier application then has to be furnished within three months of the date of the later Sri Lankan application.
If the priority requirements are not complied with, the application itself is unaffected — the Director-General simply makes no reference to the priority claimed. You keep the application and lose the earlier date, which is usually the thing you filed for.
Exhibition protection
An alternative date exists for goods or services shown at an official or officially recognised international exhibition. Apply within six months of first exhibition and, on request, the application is deemed to have been made on the date of first exhibition.
The evidence is a certificate from the appropriate authority of the exhibition stating the date the mark was first used there. The protection does not stack with any other priority period claimed.
One class at a time
The Regulations limit an application to goods or services of any one class. A brand needing four classes files four applications, each with its own fee and its own life thereafter.
That makes the specification a planning decision rather than a drafting one. See trademark classes in Sri Lanka.
What amendments are possible later
The Regulations permit two amendments to a pending application, and they are narrow:
- a change of name or address of the applicant, provided it is not a change arising from an assignment or transmission; and
- an amendment of the mark by deleting a part or parts of it.
So you can cut the mark down. You cannot add to it, and you cannot substitute a different one. See changes to a trademark.
Frequently asked questions
How many copies of the mark do I need? Five copies of a representation accompany the application, and the representation must not exceed ten centimetres square.
Can I file in Sri Lanka from abroad without a local agent? No. A registered agent must be a Sri Lankan citizen ordinarily resident in Sri Lanka, and an applicant resident abroad also needs a postal address for service in Sri Lanka.
What is my filing date? The date the application is received — unless the fee arrives later, in which case the later date governs. A formal defect rectified later also resets the date to the date of rectification.
How long do I have to file the priority document? Three months from the date of the Sri Lankan application. The declaration itself goes in with the application.
What happens if I miss the priority deadline? The application proceeds, but without any reference to the priority claimed. You lose the earlier date, not the application.
Can I file one application for several classes? No. An application may relate to goods or services of one class only.
Useful official resources
- National Intellectual Property Office of Sri Lanka — forms and fees
- Intellectual Property Act, No. 36 of 2003 — sections 106 to 110, 175
- Intellectual Property Regulations No. 01 of 2006 — regulations 11 to 18
See our related notes on trademark protection in Sri Lanka, examination and objections and trademark classes.
Preparing a Sri Lankan filing with a priority date to protect? Talk to us.