Kazakhstan

The Kazakh Patent and Trademark Office (National Institute of Intellectual Property) conducts correspondence in Kazakh and Russian languages. Any foreign applicant needs to appoint a local Patent Attorney for handling its IP matters before the Office. The appointment can be confirmed with a signed Power of Attorney, a copy of which will be sufficient in most cases. However, the original Power of Attorney will be required for the matters considered by the Appeal Council. If a POA is in a foreign language, it will need a notarized translation. However, a two or three language POAs (in a foreign language with its equivalent in Kazakh/Russian) will require no translation.

Average examination timeframe by the Kazakh Patent and Trademark Office is about 12-18 months for inventions, about 2-3 months for utility models, and about 7-8 months for trademarks and industrial designs. The trademarks filed through the Madrid system are considered within about 10-12 months, although the Institute intends to shorten this time. Trademark prosecution involves publishing the trademark for oppositions by third parties, which can be filed within 1 month from its publication.

When an IP-related matter proceeds to court, they are considered by specifically appointed courts in Astana when the case concerns the decisions of the Appeal Council or if National Institute of Intellectual Property is one of the defenders. Otherwise, the plaintiff need to apply to interdistrict economic court or a district court. An attorney well-versed in the local court practice will ensure protection of the client’s best interest in any matter.