Recent changes in Latvian Trademark and Law on Industrial Property Institutions and Procedures, effective starting 7 March 2023, foresee a more effective regulation for trademark cancellation and invalidation procedure in Latvia. These amendments fully incorporate Directive (EU) 2015 / 2436.

Now any interested party can file non-use cancellation or invalidation actions also before the Latvian Industrial Board of Appeal. Before these amendments entered into force, these actions could only be filed before the court. As such, court proceedings are more time-consuming, complex and costly.

After these changes, brand owners are free to choose whether to file non-use cancellation or invalidation actions before the court or Board of Appeal. This gives certain flexibility and option to tailor the “attack strategy” on case-by-case basis.

The facilitated procedure for trademark cancellation and invalidation actions brings a lot of benefits to brand owners in terms of procedural economy. For instance, power of attorneys for representation before the Board of Appeal are not necessary, the official fees are reduced and translations of the actions are no longer needed. Moreover, now requirements for submitting evidence are more straightforward, too.

Overall, we predict that these amendments will result in more efficient, faster and cost-effective procedure for annulment of trademarks in Latvia. In the long-run, these changes will greatly benefit the trademark protection in Latvia.

The Latvian Patent Office is constantly working on improving and adding new e-services in relation to trademark filings, renewals, oppositions, non-use cancellation actions, invalidation actions and other services. This saves time for everyone involved, and, most importantly gives a standardized approach and faster results for brand owners.