Cautionary notices possible in East Timor

An East Timor newspaper has agreed to start publishing cautionary notices informing the public of owners' interests in their trademarks. This is in an attempt to prevent infringement in a country that remains without any legal framework for trademark protection.

East Timor is an extension of the island of Timor, a former Portuguese colony that became a province of Indonesia in 1976. On May 20 2002 East Timor obtained its independence through a United Nations-sponsored referendum, thus becoming the first new nation of the millennium.

Prior to May 20 2002, trademark applications filed and registrations obtained in Indonesia extended to East Timor. However, this stopped following independence and no trademark law or practice has yet been introduced to replace the Indonesian law. Thus, there are no official rules or regulations governing the cautionary notice procedure.

Bharati Bakshani, Ladas & Parry LLP, New York