Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in the northern Indian Ocean of the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia; known until 1972 as Ceylon, Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the Northwest and the Maldives to the Southwest.

Patent

The language of the Sri Lankan patent application is English. The application may be filed in any other foreign language; however the English translation should be submitted within 3 months from the date of filing the patent application.

The term for filing patent applications in Sri Lanka is 12 months from the date of priority, and the deadline for the PCT national stage entry in Sri Lanka is 30 months from the date of priority. The restoration of both terms is not possible. To obtain a filing date it is necessary to provide the National Intellectual Property Office of Sri Lanka with the name and address of the applicant and the inventor, description of the patent, set of claims and payment of the filing fee.

The certified copy of the priority document must be submitted within 3 months from the date of filing, and a signed and stamped Power of Attorney must be provided within 3 months from the date of patent filing or entering the Sri Lankan PCT national phase. If the applicant of the Sri Lankan patent application is not the inventor, an assignment deed signed and stamped by both parties must be provided within 3 months from the date of filing or the PCT national stage entry.

For granting a Sri Lankan patent an applicant must submit an international type search report issued by any International Searching Authority according to the PCT. The search report must be provided to the Patent Office within 3 months from issuance thereof, and if it is not in English the translation should be provided. No official grant fee needs to be paid. The first annual fees for Sri Lankan patent will fall due within two years after the certificate has been issued.

There is no novelty grace period provision for patent applications stipulated in the Sri Lankan legislation. But to perform a patent prosecution in Sri Lanka foreigners must appoint an agent, a registered patent attorney in Sri Lanka.

Trademark

A word, a symbol, a device, letters, numerals, a name, surname or geographical name, a combination or arrangement of colors and shapes of goods or containers may be registered as a trademark in Sri Lanka. Multiple class trademark applications are not possible in Sri Lanka. The separate application should be filed for each class. To obtain a filing date, it is necessary to provide the National Intellectual Property Office of Sri Lanka with the request for the registration of the mark, applicant’s details, five copies of a representation of the mark and list of goods or services in respect of which registration of the mark is requested.

In regard of the materials, simply signed and stamped Power of Attorney must be provided within 3 months from filing and the certified copy of the priority document must be submitted within 3 months from the date of filing.The trademark in Sri Lanka may be opposed within 3 months from publication of the application.

The trademark in Sri Lanka is valid for 10 years from the date of filing, but it may be a subject to cancellation if it has not been used within 5 years from it registration. It is also renewable for 10 year periods an unlimited number of times.

To perform the Sri Lankan trademark prosecution foreigners must appoint an agent, a registered trademark attorney in Sri Lanka.

Industrial Design

Any composition of lines or colors of any three dimensional forms whether or not associated with lines or colors that gives a special appearance to a product of industry or handicraft and that is capable of serving as a pattern for a product of industry or handicraft is registrable as an industrial design in Sri Lanka. However, multiple design application is not possible in Sri Lanka.The total validity term of an industrial design protection in Sri Lanka is 15 years.

The industrial design application in Sri Lanka should be filed within 6 months from the priority date. It is issued based on results of the formal examination, and there is no provision regarding the novelty grace period for design applications stipulated in the Sri Lankan legislation.

To perform the Sri Lankan industrial design prosecution foreigners must appoint an agent, a registered patent attorney in Sri Lanka. The official grant fee is not stipulated. For obtainment of the total term of protection the patent on industrial design shall be renewed every 5 years before 6 months from the expiration of 5 year term.