ARTICLE 24 OF THE REVISED BANGUI PROTOCOL provides:
(1) The invalidation of the effects on the national territory of the registration of a mark shall be pronounced by the civil courts, at the request either of the Office of the Public Prosecutor or of any interested person or professional group.
(2) At the request of the interested parties referred to above or of the Organization, the court shall declare the registration of a mark invalid if it does not conform to the provisions of Articles 2 and 3 of this Annex or conflicts with a prior right; in the latter case, invalidation may only be pronounced at the request of the owner of the prior right. The invalidity may apply either to all or to only some of the goods or services for which the mark was registered.
(3) When the decision declaring the registration invalid becomes final, it shall be notified to the Organization.
(4) Invalidity shall be published in the form laid down in the Implementing Regulations relating to this Annex. The registration shall be deemed invalid as of the date on which it took place.
The action start with the filing of the cancellation petition. The verified petition for cancellation must be filed together with a signed Power of Attorney and the originals or certified true copies of the supporting documents. These documents submitted with the petition shall constitute the entire evidence for the petitioner.
Upon payment of prescribed fees, the High Court will postponed the matter for the counterstatement of the respondent. The counterstatement must also be accompanied by the evidence of the respondent and other documents serving copies thereof upon the petitioner.
In case the respondent fails to file an answer, the case shall be submitted for oral hearing for purposes of facilitating the understanding of the matter and to clarify some issues. Thereafter, the case shall be submitted for decision on the basis of the petition and the documentary evidence submitted by the petitioner. If the petitioner is successful, the trademark registration will be cancelled by the court
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