Sierra Leone’s Trade Mark Regulations 2024, published as Statutory Instrument No. 19 of 2024, are reported to have come into effect in January 2026.
The Regulations sit beneath the Trade Marks Act 2014 and modernise the procedural framework for trademark applications, oppositions, renewals and recordals — introducing, for the first time, a detailed set of provisions governing Madrid Protocol applications designating Sierra Leone.
Quick Facts: Sierra Leone Trade Mark Regulations 2024
| Instrument | Trade Mark Regulations 2024 (Statutory Instrument No. 19 of 2024) |
| Parent legislation | Trade Marks Act 2014 |
| Reported entry into force | January 2026 |
| New official fees | Introduced under the Finance Act 2026; reported effective February 2026 |
| Madrid Protocol | Detailed procedural framework introduced (examination, refusals, opposition, transformation) |
| Key caution | Enforceability of international registrations designating Sierra Leone remains uncertain |
| Recommended route | National filing currently offers a more certain means of securing rights |
What changed under Sierra Leone’s Trade Mark Regulations 2024?
The 2024 Regulations operationalise the Trade Marks Act 2014, filling in the procedural detail that practitioners and applicants have long awaited. Their scope is broad, covering the full lifecycle of a mark: application and examination, opposition, renewal, and the recordal of assignments and other interests. The most significant development is the creation of a dedicated framework for international registrations under the Madrid Protocol — alongside a series of clarifications to national filing practice and a new official fee schedule introduced through the Finance Act 2026.
How do the Regulations treat Madrid Protocol applications?
For the first time, the Regulations set out how the national office is to process international registrations that designate Sierra Leone. The reported framework introduces several requirements that applicants and their representatives should note carefully:
• Mandatory examination of designations on both absolute and relative grounds, mirroring the scrutiny applied to national applications.
• A three-month deadline to respond to a provisional refusal issued against a designation.
• A requirement to appoint a local representative in Sierra Leone for the purposes of the proceedings.
• A three-month opposition window running from the date of the WIPO notification, within which a counterstatement must be filed.
• Express provisions addressing the replacement, transformation, division and merger of international registrations.
Taken together, these provisions bring the treatment of Madrid designations broadly into line with national procedure, giving applicants a clearer roadmap for prosecuting an international registration through to protection in Sierra Leone.
Why does uncertainty over Madrid Protocol protection in Sierra Leone remain?
Despite the procedural detail, a material legal concern persists. The Trade Marks Act 2014 the primary legislation does not contain explicit provisions giving effect to the Madrid Protocol. Where subsidiary regulations introduce a framework that is not clearly anchored in the parent statute, questions can arise as to the validity and enforceability of international registrations designating the jurisdiction, particularly if a registration is later challenged or relied upon in litigation.
Until this gap is addressed at the level of the primary legislation, rights holders face a degree of legal risk in relying on the Madrid route alone. For that reason, the prudent course at present is to continue securing protection through national filing, which currently offers a more certain and adequate means of establishing enforceable trademark rights within Sierra Leone. A Madrid designation may be pursued in parallel, but should not be treated as a substitute for a national registration where certainty of protection is a priority.
What has changed for national trademark applications?
Alongside the Madrid framework, the Regulations clarify a number of long-standing points of national filing practice. These clarifications reduce ambiguity in day-to-day prosecution and align Sierra Leone more closely with mainstream international practice:
• Series applications are expressly accepted, allowing closely related variants of a mark to be filed together.
• Marks may be registered without a colour limitation, securing protection across all colours.
• Multiple priority claims may be made within a single application.
• Priority documents must be submitted within three months of filing.
• Prescribed forms have been introduced for key procedures non-compliant filings may be rejected.
The introduction of prescribed forms is a practical point of note: filings that do not use the correct form, or that are otherwise non-compliant, are reported to be liable to rejection. Applicants and agents should confirm that current forms are being used before submission.
How do renewals work under the new Regulations?
The Regulations clarify the renewal timetable. A renewal application may be filed within six months of the expiry date, and renewals are subject to published notice. As with all date-sensitive steps, rights holders should diarise renewal deadlines carefully and confirm the prevailing grace-period treatment with the national office before relying on it.
What new fees apply, and when did they take effect?
The Regulations are accompanied by a revised official fee schedule introduced under the Finance Act 2026, reported to have taken effect in February 2026. As fee schedules are subject to periodic amendment and to local administrative practice, applicants should obtain the current prescribed fees from the national office or local counsel before filing, rather than relying on figures circulating informally.
What should applicants and rights holders do now?
• Prioritise national filing where certainty of enforceable protection is the objective, given the open question over Madrid designations.
• Treat any Madrid designation of Sierra Leone as complementary, not as a standalone substitute for national protection.
• Appoint a local representative early for any international registration designating Sierra Leone, as required under the new framework.
• Diarise the key deadlines: three months to respond to a provisional refusal, three months for the opposition counterstatement from the WIPO notification, and three months to file priority documents.
• Confirm current prescribed forms and official fees with the national office or local counsel before submitting any filing.
• Monitor for any amendment to the Trade Marks Act 2014 that would expressly anchor the Madrid Protocol in primary legislation.
Protect Your Brand in Sierra Leone with Legacy Partners
Talk to Our Sierra Leone Trademark Team : info@legacypartners.global
