How are trademarks enforced in courts?

Trademark enforcement and infringement actions in Armenia must be initiated before the courts of general jurisdiction. There are no specialized courts or tribunals to hear such cases.

Court proceedings are typically initiated by filing a written statement of claim with the court of general jurisdiction. The venue is determined by the place of residence of the defendant. Once served the defendant is requested to file a statement of defense. The parties must allege the facts relevant to their position in their briefs and enclose all pieces of documentary evidence they can provide. After the exchange of written briefs, and several oral hearings, the case is decided by one legally qualified judge.

Under criminal law, proceedings are instituted upon the filing of a criminal complaint by an injured party. Criminal proceedings consist of a first pretrial investigation phase, occurring in secrecy, during which all the appropriate investigations are carried out to decide if the case should proceed to trial or be dismissed. If the case goes to trial, the owner of the trademark has the possibility of joining the proceedings as an aggrieved party. Civil proceedings may be concurrent with criminal proceedings. The duration of criminal proceedings is similar to that of civil proceedings.