Cap. 416 Art. 42Revocation of registration.

(1) The registration of a trademark may be revoked on any of the following grounds -

(a) that within the period of five years following the date of completion of the registration procedure it has not been put to genuine use in Malta, by the proprietor or with his consent, in relation to the goods or services for which it is registered, and there are no proper reasons for such non-use;

(b) that such use has been suspended for an uninterrupted period of five years, and there are no proper reasons for such non-use;

(c) that, in consequence of acts or inactivity of the proprietor, it has become the common name in the trade for a product or service for which it is registered;

(d) that in consequence of the use made of it by the proprietor or with his consent, it is liable to mislead the public in relation to the goods or services for which it is registered, particularly as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of those goods or services.

(2) For the purposes of sub-article (1) use of a trademark includes the use in a form differing in such elements which do not alter the distinctive character of the mark in the form in which it was registered, and use in Malta includes affixing the trademark to goods or to the packaging of goods in Malta solely for export purposes.

(3) The registration of a trademark shall not be revoked on the ground mentioned in paragraphs (a) or (b) of sub-article (1) if such use as is referred to in those paragraphs is commenced or resumed after the expiry of the five-year period and before the application for revocation is made:

Provided that, any such commencement or resumption of use after the expire of the five-year period but within the period of three months before the making of the application shall be disregarded unless preparations for the commencement or resumption began before the proprietor became aware that the of the goods or services for which the trademark is registered, revocation shall be limited to those goods or services.

(6) Where the registration of a trademark is revoked to any extent, the rights of the proprietor shall be deemed to have ceased to that extent as from -

(a) the date of the application for revocation, or

(b) if grounds for revocation existed at an earlier date, such earlier date.