Djibouti is a party to the Paris Convention for Protection of Industrial Property, however, the law contains no provision for claiming priority under the Paris Convention. It is therefore uncertain whether priority can be claimed, but in practice the Registrar does take priority claims into account.

Djibouti follows a multi-class filing system and recognises both goods and services classes in terms of the 10th Edition of the Nice Classification.

The total time from filing to registration is approximately 1 month. Trade mark applications are examined for compliance with formal requirements only and are published in the official gazette after registration. There is no provision for opposition proceedings.

Djibouti is a first to file jurisdiction and common law trade mark rights are not recognised. Well-known trade marks in terms of the Paris Convention are recognised.