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SAUDI ARABIA: ADOPTS THE 11TH EDITION OF THE NICE CLASSIFICATION

The Eleventh Edition of the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks under the Nice Agreement (Nice Classification) has been officially adopted in Saudi Arabia as a replacement to the 10th Edition which did not include the most ...
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SAUDI ARABIA: TRANSFER OF TRADEMARK ENFORCEMENT JURISDICTION TO SAIP

The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property “SAIP” announced on August 15, 2021 that the enforcement jurisdiction of trademarks is transferred from the Ministry of Commerce to the SAIP in line with the Council of Ministers' decision No. (496) dated 9/14/1439 AH corr ...
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UAE: NEW INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY LAW

The UAE has issued Federal Law no. 11 of 2021 ("the Law") concerning the regulation and protection of Industrial Property Rights. The Law revoked the (“former Law”) No. 17 of 2002 on Regulation and Protection of Industrial Property of Patents, Industrial Drawing ...
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GCC ANTI-COMMERCIAL FRAUD LAW UPDATES IN OMAN AND KUWAIT

Majlis Ash’shura (which is the lower house of the Council of Oman) referred the draft unified GCC Anti-Commercial Fraud Law to the State Council without changes, during its 12th ordinary session of the second annual sitting (2019-2020) of the ninth term (2019-2023). It was high ...
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EGYPT: NEW CUSTOMS LAW FOR PRE-REGISTRATION OF SHIPMENTS

In the latest development with the customs department in Egypt, the Egyptian customs have introduced "Advanced Cargo Information (ACI)”, a new electronic system for the pre-registration of shipment information.

This system requires cargo data and related documen ...
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EU: INDIA AND PAKISTAN IN BASMATI RICE BATTLE AT THE EUROPEAN UNION

A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place. In addition, the qualiti ...
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UAE: UPDATE ON TRADEMARK GAZETTE PUBLICATION

The Trademarks and Copyright Works Department of the Ministry of Economy circulated that the Official Trademark Gazette will be published bimonthly. This came into force as of 15 June 2021. It will expedite trademark registration process.

First fortnightly Trademark Gazett ...
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KUWAIT: LAUNCHES ONLINE PLATFORM FOR PATENT APPLICATIONS

Kuwait Patent Office (KPO) announced that an electronic platform for the filing of patent applications has been introduced on May 19, 2021.

All new patent registrations are now handled online allowing electronic filing of new patent applications in Kuwait. The online syste ...
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SAUDI ARABIA: NICE NOTIFICATION NO. 139: NICE AGREEMENT CONCERNING THE INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF GOODS AND SERVICES FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE REGISTRATION OF MARKS- ACCESSION BY THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

It was Announced/notified by the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) with respect to the deposit by the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on April 22, 2021, of its instrument of accession to the Nice Agreement Concerning the International ...
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QATAR: DRAFT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RELATED LAW APPROVED

Qatar’s Cabinet has approved a draft law with respect to the protection of trademarks, copyright and neighboring rights of the International Football Association (FIFA.)

The draft Law is referred to the Shoura Council for their consideration.

Among other t ...
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OMAN: ONLINE FILINGS FOR TRADEMARK WITH AN INCREASED FEE

Oman: Online Filings for Trademark with an increased fee

 

The Intellectual Property Directorate at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion announced, via circular letter number 1447/2021, that it has started receiving ...
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KUWAIT: SUBSTANTIVE EXAMINATION OF PATENTS

Kuwait: Substantive Examination of Patents

The Supreme Council of the GCC held its annual meeting on 5 January 2021 and issued its decision that the GCC Patent Office will no longer accept any new patent applications as of 6 January 2021. Thus discontinui ...
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PAKISTAN: PAKISTAN HAS JOINED THE MADRID SYSTEM

Pakistan has officially joined the Madrid System which enables trademark owners to file a single application and pay one set of fees to apply for protection in up to 124 countries. Through the same system, applicants modify, renew or expand a global trademark portfolio through one ce ...
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UAE: EXPECTED INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY LAW

In UAE, issuance of a new intellectual property law is expected considering that UAE National Federal council announced the discussion as to this point during the session dated January 19, 2021.

Accordingly, the expected intellectual property law will comprise of eight cha ...
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OMAN: RATIFICATION OF LISBON AGREEMENT

Government of the Sultanate of Oman has ratified the Geneva Act of Lisbon Agreement, on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications signed in Geneva on May 20, 2015, through the Royal Decree no. 18/2021 

Accordingly, concerned Authorities have been instructed ...
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EGYPT: MERGING OF TRADEMARK AND PATENT RELATED AUTHORITIES

In Egypt, a directive has been issued by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in order to merge the authorities within the body of the Ministries of Higher Education, Scientific Research, Agriculture, Industry and Supply under one entity which will become the Intellectual Property Authorit ...
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USA: REFORMS WITH REGARD TO US TRADEMARKS AND COPYRIGHTS

The Congress has passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act on December 21, 2020.

Accordingly, the Act brings some alterations regarding trademark procedures which will be fundamental for trademark litigation and prosecution. Accordingly, seeking injunction has been eased ...
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BRAZIL: ACCEPTANCE OF E-SIGNED AGREEMENTS

Due to the difficulties experienced during COVID 19, Brazilian Patent Office has started to accept executed agreements on condition that some requirements are met.

Accordingly, the first requirement is to execute the agreement electronically which will be handled by two pa ...
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GCC: NEW PATENT FILINGS

Following the recent GCC Supreme Council meeting, the GCC Patent office will no longer be accepting new patent filings as of January 6th 2021. At the 41st Supreme Council meeting, held on the 5th of January 2021, a decision was made to amend the existing GCC Patent Law, which has bee ...
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USA: INCREASE IN OFFICIAL FEES CONCERNING TRADEMARKS

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) is in preparation of increasing the official fees concerning trademarks through its “Final Rule” which will be effective as of January 2, 2021.

 

Below you may find some of the ...
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UAE: REVISION OF RULES WITH REGARDS TO FOREIGN OWNERSHIP

United Arab Emirates has recently annulled the rule which required 51% ownership of a UAE national for onshore companies. This means that a foreign person or company may own 100% share in a local UAE company.

 

The aim of this reform is to boost the country ...
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CYPRUS: AMENDMENT OF TRADEMARK LAW

The House of Representatives of Cyprus has introduced amendments in the Trademark Law in order to align with the European Trademarks Directive (Directive (EU) 2015/2436).

The mentioned regulation has brought substantial amendments and changed the system of registration, ma ...
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TURKEY: REGULATIONS WITH REGARDS TO SOCIAL NETWORKS

 

On 28 July, 2020, a new amendment to the Internet Law, which is Law no. 5651 on the Regulation of Broadcasts via the Internet and the Prevention of Crimes Committed Through such Broadcasts, has been introduced. Through this amendment, the term “Social Network ...
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SAUDI ARABIA: FIRST CERTIFICATE OF A SOUND TRADEMARK

 

The Saudi Intellectual Property Authority has issued the first certificate for a sound trademark in the Kingdom.

The certificate has been issued for the Saudi Telecom Company.

It seems that the sounds which are innovative as well as distinctive ...
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UNDERSTANDING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AROUND AI-RELATED INNOVATIONS

Governments and businesses across the Middle East are recognising the importance of riding the new wave of disruptive innovations that corresponds with the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The UAE, in particular, is committed to being at the forefront of this new arena. Indeed, ...
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SAUDI ARABIA: BLOCKING OF 231 WEBSITES DUE TO VIOLATION OF REGULATIONS

The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) has blocked 231 websites as they have found that those are violating the intellectual property laws in Saudi Arabia.

SAIP has established an organization to monitor and detect possible violations. Those blocked websites ...
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SAUDI ARABIA: INCREASE IN VAT

Saudi Arabia declared that the VAT rate will be increased from 5% to 15%, which will be effective as of July 1, 2020.

Due to the pandemic which has affected the global economy, several measures have been taken and the tripling of the VAT rate has been cited as one of these ...
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QATAR: NEW INDUSTRIAL DESIGN LAW

The State of Qatar adopted Law No. 10 of 2020 for the Protection of Industrial Designs on April 19, 2020. This new law annulled the industrial design law dated 2002.

Adopting the new industrial design law has been a continuous&n ...
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SAUDI AUTHORITY FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY UPDATE

As Saudi Arabia continues to move forward with Vision 2030, the government has made a further step in unifying the body responsible for Intellectual Property matters. The Ministry of Trade and Investment will no longer be responsible for trademarks as the mandate is now being passed ...
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UAE REDUCTION OF TRADEMARK FEES

 

 

The UAE government has made the decision to reduce fees with regards to services that are offered by the Ministry of the Economy, including Trademark related services. Under Cabinet Ministerial Decision 20/2020, a range of current fees will be disc ...
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COVID-19 VIRUS OUTBREAK: UTPS OPERATIONS CONTINUE AS USUAL

In response to the Corona pandemic, we want to provide you with an update on our ongoing efforts to continue assisting clients while also protecting the health and safety of our team.

 

As you know, UTPS operates in several countries. In some countries, the ...
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UK: BREXIT

UK: BREXIT

 

On the 31st of January, 2020 the United Kingdom officially left the European Union. Starting from, February 1st, 2020, the negotiation dealings with the EU began.The c ...
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MALAYSIA: TRADEMARK ACT UPDATE

In Malaysia, the Trademarks Act 2019 ("the Act") has been enforced on 27th December 2019. With the passage, Malaysia will also accede to the Madrid Protocol on the same day.

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VIETNAM, SAMOA AND ISRAEL JOIN THE HAGUE AGREEMENT

Vietnam, Samoa and Israel presented their instruments of ratification of the Geneva Act (1999) of the Hague Agreement on International Design Registrations with the director of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Mr. Francis Gurry.

Consequently, Vietnam wi ...
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MAURITIUS: THE INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY ACT OF 2019

In Mauritius, the Intellectual Property Act has been passed by the Mauritius Parliament on July 30, 2019.

The Intellectual Property Act make the Mauritian Intellectual Property (IP) system more reactive to the demands of researchers, investors, and entrepreneurs.

...
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INDIA: ESSENTIAL CHANGES IN INDIAN PATENT RULES

In order to boost the economy in India, the government has recently made amendments to the Patent Rules. The rules are placed for the patents filed by small entities, women and government authorities along with encouraging Indian Applicants to file International Patent applications.< ...
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USA: NEW TRADEMARK RULE ANNOUNCEMENT

 

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has declared a new rule with regards to all foreign based trademark applicants, registrants and parties to the “Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB)” actions to be performed by an at ...
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SULTANATE OF OMAN: FULFILLMENT OF THE PROCEDURES PERTAINING TO TRADEMARKS

As per the circular issued by Sultanate of Oman Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the Directorate General of Commerce requires that trademark owners accomplish the procedures regarding renewals of trademarks filed before the Omani Trademark Office within 60 (sixty) days as of the ...
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PALESTINE: UPDATES IN TRADEMARK FILING

The Palestinian Trademark Office has issued a new trademark application form in which it is made essential to include the Arabic translation of the application in case it is written in a foreign language.

There are other updates with regards to trademark filing in Palestin ...
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CYPRUS: ONLINE SERVICES FOR TRADEMARKS

The trademark office in Cyprus has upgraded existing online services as of July 15, 2019 for trademarks. The new system introduces improved e-filing and online services respectively.

Also, through the new system, users will benefit from modern, state of the art tools and s ...
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EGYPT: POSSIBLE OFFICIAL FEE INCREASE BY EGYPTIAN TRADEMARK OFFICE

Currently, it is expected that the Egypt Trademark Office will raise the official fees pertaining to the trademark and design prosecution.

The relevant decree has still not entered into force, although the implementation date has been listed as September 5th of ...
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TUNISIA: RADICAL INCREASE IN ALL IP RELATED FEES

The Tunisian Trademark Office has recently announced that there will be a radical increase in all IP related fees as of the beginning of next year.

The IP fees revisions shall cover all steps including filing, renewal, oppositions, publication, cancellation of trademarks a ...
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JORDAN: NEW PATENT REGULATION IN FORCE

Pursuant to Regulation No. 5 of 2019 which has been accepted by His Majesty King Abdullah II, there are modifications which pertain to patent filing and prosecution.

One of the amendments which were outlined in the new regulation is that any third party may review the pate ...
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EGYPT: IMPOSITION OF VAT ON IP MATTERS

The Egyptian Trademark and Industrial Designs Office has recently announced that official fees related to trademark and design matters will be subject to a 14% Value Added Tax (VAT). As per the circular issued by the ITDA (Internal Trade Development Authority) Patent related matters ...
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UAE: NEW UPDATE WITH REGARDS TO IP CHARGES AND FEES

As per the recent decision no. 51 issued by the Cabinet, the Ministry of Economy revoked fees on more than 100 government services and decreased the charges for others among 110 services along with the ones with regards to the intellectual property matters to develop investment envir ...
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UNITED IP TIMES WINTER UPDATE 2017

United Arab Emirates: United Arab Emirates has been unanimously approved as the newest national group of AIPPI on October 15, 2017. Nevin Jacob Koshy will be serving as one of the Board of Directors in the new UAE national group.

United Arab Emirates has a ...
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UTPS: ENSURING IP PROTECTION

                         The protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights has become one of the most contentious issues in global commerce. Much of the traditional growth and development of countries in th ...
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ARABIC TRANSLITERATION OF TRADEMARKS

Use and consequential infringement of rights in local languages had always been a challenge for trademark rights holders across the world. Same is the case in the Middle East where most of the multinationals adopt transliteration of their famous marks in Arabic language to cater to t ...
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UTPS: ENSURING IP PROTECTION

The protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights has become one of the most contentious issues in global commerce. Much of the traditional growth and development of countries in the Middle East over the past 30 years or so has come from oil and gas revenues. The main ar ...
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DJIBOUTI JOINS PATENT COOPERATION TREATY [PCT] AS THE 150TH MEMBER STATE

WIPO welcomes the accession of its 150th member state – Djibouti, to the Patent Cooperation Treaty [PCT] on June 23 2016. The Minister delegate to the Ministry of Economy and Finance in charge of Trade, SMEs, Handicrafts and Tourism, Mr. Hassan Houmed Ibrahim deposited the coun ...
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