Intellectual Property Registration in Malta

Intellectual Property in Malta

Malta introduced a legal framework designed to maximise the commercial value of intellectual property while fostering an environment that encourages innovation, creativity while safeguarding valuable ideas and inventions. Malta's IP laws support industry growth at the highest level and operate within a legal system that is largely harmonised with EU standards thus favouring recognition and enforceability throughout the EU, and vice versa.

In addition to this, Malta has also ratified key international IP conventions, ensuring that protection extends well beyond the EU borders.

We understand the challenges across the IP, telecommunications, media and technology sectors delivering practical, timely and effective solutions, advising on the full spectrum of contentious and non-contentious matters in the technology, media and entertainment fields. We assist with the registration of intellectual property including trademarks and designs in Malta and across Europe, draft and negotiate IP-related agreements, support financing and acquisition transactions and assist in securing regulatory approvals and clearances.

We also assist on litigation related matters, representing clients in infringement disputes and arbitration proceedings including the seizure and destruction of counterfeited goods.

WHY PROTECT YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY?

In today’s fast-paced world, Intellectual Property is a critical asset. A successful design can become one of your most valuable business assets. Registering your design ensures robust legal protection and creates a strong barrier against unauthorized use. Like other forms of property, a registered design can be bought, sold, transferred, or licensed.

Piazza Legal provides assistance in registering intellectual property, including trademarks, patents, copyright, and designs. Services extend beyond Malta to the EU and international jurisdictions, ensuring comprehensive protection for your intellectual property.

OUR SERVICES

Piazza Legal provides comprehensive support across all areas of intellectual property, including trademarks, patents, designs, and copyright, both locally and internationally.

Services include:

Searches, applications, and registrations with the IP Office of Malta, EUIPO, and WIPO
Handling opposition and appeal proceedings
Withdrawals, restrictions, transfers, amendments, or alterations to registrations
Guidance on enforcing trademarks through rights in rem or execution procedures

Trademark Registration

A trademark is any sign or combination of sign such as words, slogans, symbols, logos, or devices that distinguishes your brand from others. The early selection of an original trademark is essential for differentiation aims.

Trademarks are governed by the Trademarks Act (Cap 597) and the Trademark Rules, 2021 (Legal Notice 50 of 2021), including all related subsidiary legislation while EU trademarks are governed by Regulation (EU) 2017/1001, complemented by the EU Trademark Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/625 and the EU Trademark Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/626.

Since Malta’s accession to the EU, trademarks are also protected under the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) framework. A European Union Trademark (EUTM) provides protection across all 27 EU member states through a single registration. It is economically efficient, with lower registration, renewal and administration costs compared to registering in individual countries. It has an initial validity of 10 years from the filing date, renewable indefinitely in 10-year periods. Applications are examined for distinctiveness and graphical representation and must be genuinely used within 5 years after registration (and not suspended for 5 consecutive years), or it may become vulnerable to revocation.

The Registration Process requires the submission of an Applications with the Malta Intellectual Property Office (IPO) or EUIPO.

We assist with:

Trademark searches and registrations (Malta, EU, WIPO)
Opposition proceedings
Amendments, transfers, withdrawals, or restrictions
Rights in rem or enforcement of trademark rights

European Union trademarks are governed by EU Regulation 2017/1001 and further detailed in the EU Trademark Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/625 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/626.

A EUTM is a trademark that is registered or pending registration with the EUIPO, covering all EU member states.

Before filing a trademark application registration, it is recommended to conduct trademark searches to ensure the mark does not conflict with existing trademarks.

Trademark Registration in Malta

Malta has a single-class system, meaning applicants must file separate applications for each class of goods or services. The country has promoted a supportive environment for innovation and intellectual property protection for over 50 years.

The EU Trademark Application Process

To file an EUTM application, the following information is typically required:

Applicant information
Languages of the application
Type of trademark
Desired Nice Classes
Details of any prior applications within six months

The EUIPO examines the application, and if it meets legal requirements, it is provisionally approved and published in the EU Trademark Bulletin. Third parties have three months to file oppositions. If no opposition is filed, the EUIPO issues a registration certificate, granting exclusive rights across the EU.

Application process generally lasts up to six months if there are no delays. Opposition proceedings may extend this period.

Adverse decisions can be appealed within two months of notification. Further appeals can be made to the General Court and, subsequently, the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Patent Registration

Patents grant inventors exclusive rights to a product or process that provides a new technical solution or method. This prevents others from making, using, selling, or distributing the invention.

In Malta, patents are valid for 20 years from the filing date.

Patents in Malta are governed by the Patents and Designs Act (Cap 417) along with subsidiary legislation which cover supplementary protection certificates for pharmaceutical and plant protection products.

Introduction to Patent Protection in Malta

Malta is a member of both the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the European Patent Office (EPO), thus allowing patent protection at an international and regional levels. The EPO allows inventors to secure patent protection across its 39 Member States. Malta is represented in the EPO Administrative Council as well as the General Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which oversees the PCT among other intellectual property related matters. WIPO facilitates international patent protection for intellectual property owners worldwide.

Registering a New Patent in Malta

Patents can be registered through the Malta Intellectual Property Office (the “Office”). To qualify, an invention must be novel, involve an inventive step and be industrially applicable. Biological inventions may also be patentable, subject to ethical and moral considerations.

Applicants may also claim priority based on earlier national, regional, or international filings in line with the Paris Convention. Priority must be claimed within one year of the first filing.

Once submitted, the Office examines the application and compliance with relevant regulations. If approved, the patent is granted for a term of twenty (20) years from the filing date. A registered patent grants the owner the right to prevent others from doing so.

In order for a Patent to be registered, applicants must submit a request for grant of a patent detailing the invention together with drawings referenced and abstracts

The following cannot be patented in Malta:

Discoveries, scientific theories, and mathematical methods;
Aesthetic creations;
Schemes, rules, mental methods, business methods, and computer programs;
Presentations of information;
Medical or veterinary treatments and diagnostic methods;
Inventions contrary to public order or morality.

Validating a European Patent in Malta

Malta allows validation of European patents granted by the EPO. To file such validation, patent owner must hold the granted European patent. Patents filed in English are automatically valid in Malta (otherwise they need to be translated) but require payment of renewal fees and assignment of a Maltese patent number to be recorded in the local registry. Licences may be exclusive or non-exclusive, covering the whole patent or part of it. Only patent owners can file these applications, which usually take about one month to process.

Conversion applications are typically processed within one month.

Transferring, Renewing or Restoring of Patents

Patent ownership may be transferred through assignment, merger, testamentary disposition, or court order. Applications to transfer ownership must be filed by the current patent owner and typically take around one month to be processed. Once approved, the change is recorded in the patent register.

Renewal or restoration requests for patents or SPCs must be filed by the patent owner. Processing generally takes one month.

Design Registration

Designs fall under the Patents and Designs Act (Cap 417).

Malta operates as a single-class jurisdiction, meaning applicants must submit a separate application for each trademark class. Maltese IP legislation is fully harmonized with EU law, aiming to balance fair use of IP with adequate protection and remuneration for creators.

A design refers to the appearance of a product or part of it, including lines, contours, colours, shapes, textures, and materials. To be registered, a design must be new and original.

Design Registration is governed by the Patents and Designs Act (Cap 417). Registered designs last 5 years, renewable up to 25 years. Ownership grants exclusive rights and can be transferred, partially or fully. Designs can also be protected internationally or at the EU level via unregistered Community designs (UCDs) or registered Community designs (RCDs). UCDs provide 3 years of protection; RCDs offer 5 years, renewable to 25 years.

The following are excluded from registration protection:

Features dictated solely by technical function
Necessary functional shapes and dimensions
Modular systems with interchangeable products
Designs contrary to public policy or morality
National flags, official arms, or other protected symbols

Benefits of Registering a Design

A design can be protected if it is new and has individual character:

Newness: A design is considered new if no identical design has been made available to the public before the filing date or, if priority is claimed, the priority date. Designs that differ only in immaterial details are treated as identical.
Individual character: A design has individual character if the overall impression it creates on an informed user differs from that of any other existing design.

Registration may generally be refused if:

An almost identical design is already registered;
The design is purely functional; or
The design is contrary to public policy or accepted principles of morality.

Once registered, a design is protected by a design right for five years from the filing date, granting the owner the exclusive right to use the design and prevent third parties from doing so without consent, usually through a commercial licence. This includes making, offering, marketing, importing, exporting, or using a product incorporating the design, as well as stocking it for such purposes.

Protection can be renewed in successive five-year periods, up to a maximum of 25 years from the filing date.

It is important to note that registration under the Act does not affect eligibility for copyright protection under the Copyright Act from the moment the design is created or fixed in any form.

Malta Registered Designs

To register a design in Malta, an application must be filed with the Comptroller in Maltese or English, including:

A request for registration;
The applicant’s name and address;
The design and its description;
The name and address of any appointed agent; and
A declaration claiming priority, if applicable.

The Comptroller examines whether the application meets legal requirements. If not, the applicant is given an opportunity to amend or provide representations within a specified period. Failure to do so may result in refusal. If requirements are met, the application is accepted for registration.

Registration typically takes up to three months. Once registered, a certificate is issued and the design is published in the IP Online Journal.

Protection under the Act is without prejudice to rights arising from unregistered designs, trademarks, distinctive signs, patents, utility models, typefaces, civil liability, or unfair competition.

Registered European Union Design

Design owners may also apply for European Union design protection, which covers all EU member states, offering:

A single application;
A single language of procedure;
A single administrative centre; and
A single file to manage.

Through the Hague System, international protection is possible in over 55 territories via a single application filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva.

Copyright Registration

Copyright grants creators exclusive rights over their original works, including the right to reproduce, adapt, distribute or publicly communicate them. In Malta, copyright arises automatically once a work is placed in the public domain. Registration is not required. While creators generally own copyright, exceptions exist for works created under employment or commission, where ownership may vest with the employer or commissioner.

Copyright is transferable through private agreement, but the original author retains moral rights, such as attribution. Protection lasts 70 years after the death of the creator.

Eligible works include Literary, artistic, musical, and audio-visual works. Copyright does not protect ideas, methods, procedures, or mathematical concepts.

Eligibility for Copyright Protection

Copyright and related rights are considered movable property and can be transferred or assigned through a written agreement, by operation of law, or via testamentary disposition. Regardless of whether copyright or a neighbouring right is transferred, the author retains certain legal rights concerning the public use of their work and its copies.

Under Maltese law, original works eligible for copyright protection include artistic, audio-visual, literary, and musical works as well as databases. For musical, literary or artistic works to qualify, they must be original and recorded, written down, or otherwise fixed in a tangible form. Copyright does not protect ideas, procedures, methods or mathematical concepts.

Unlike patents, trademarks, or designs once legal requirements are met, copyright protection is automatically granted without the need to register a work.

Rights under Copyright Protection

Reproducing the work or substantial parts of it;
Adapting, translating, modifying, distributing, lending, renting, communicating, or publicly displaying the work.

Similar neighbouring rights are provided to performers, producers of sound recordings, audio-visual producers and broadcasters for their performances, recordings, broadcasts, and works.

For architectural works, the author can authorize or prevent the construction of buildings reproducing the whole or substantial parts of the design. However, copyright does not extend to reconstructing a building in the same style or to controlling the rental or lending of buildings or applied art.

Duration of Copyright Protection

Literary, musical, artistic works and databases are protected for 70 years after the end of the year following the author’s death, regardless of when the work was published.
Audio-visual works are protected for 70 years after the end of the year in which the last of the following persons dies: the principal director, the author of the screenplay, the author of the dialogue, or the composer of music for the work.
Anonymous, pseudonymous, or collective works: Protected until 70 years after the work is lawfully made public.

Performers’ rights, producers’ rights for sound recordings and audio-visual works, and broadcasters’ rights last for 50 years from the end of the year in which the work was first performed, published, communicated, or broadcast.

Databases are protected only if their selection or arrangement of contents reflects the author’s intellectual creation. Protection does not extend to the database contents themselves. Sui generis rights may apply for databases or semiconductor topographies.

Qualifying for Copyright Protection in Malta

To qualify under Maltese law, the author must be:

A Maltese citizen,
Domiciled or permanently resident in Malta, or
An entity established, registered, or vested with legal personality in Malta (or in another country where copyright protection applies under an international agreement to which Malta is a party).

The law also gives authors the right to prevent the mutilation, distortion, or derogatory treatment of their works.