"Our mission is to convince the local courts of the industrial and commercial policies and practices used by courts in more sophisticated jurisdictions"

"Our mission is to convince the local courts of the industrial and commercial policies and practices used by courts in more sophisticated jurisdictions"

UAE

The UAE Cabinet of Ministers recently issued Cabinet Resolution No. (112) of 2023, which focuses on the services provided by the Ministry of Economy, specifically patents, industrial designs, and utility models. The main changes are as follows: This resolution reinstates official fees for all zero-rated services affected by Cabinet Resolution No. (20) of 2020. The revised fee structure will impact various services, including annuities, publications, assignments, amendments, restorations, and more. New services have been introduced, such as express examination, payment based on the number of claims, increase in the number of claims, and re-examination with minimal errors. A revised fee schedule, featuring decreased charges, has been implemented for academic entities. The Cabinet issued this resolution on November 13, 2023, and it will take effect on January 13, 2024, within 60 days of its publication in the official gazette.

SAUDI ARABIA

The Council of Ministers has approved amendments to the patent and design protection system. These amendments include the introduction of an annual financial fee for protection applications, which must be paid at the beginning of each year. If the fee is not paid within three months of the due date, the application or protection document will be invalidated. However, applicants who have paid the fee for three years without being granted protection can postpone payment until a decision is made. Moreover, the period of protection for industrial design certificates is fifteen years from the date of application. Additionally, international applications for design registration will be subject to the provisions of the Hague Agreement. Designs registered under the Hague Agreement and designated for protection in the Kingdom will have the same rights as those registered under this system.

Bahrain

The Bahraini Minister of Industry and Trade, Abdullah Fakhro, issued a decision amending the fees due for registering patents and utility models. According to Resolution No. 67 of 2023, some fees for registering patents and utility models for individuals were reduced, as the fees for submitting and formally examining the application were reduced from 270 dinars previously, to 40 dinars according to the new decision. Substantive examination fees through the National Patent Office have also been reduced, from 280 dinars previously to 250 dinars currently. The fees for granting and publishing a patent were also reduced from 80 dinars to 50 dinars. In its session held on September 4, the Council of Ministers approved a memorandum from the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs on a draft decision amending the attached table regarding determining the fees due for registering patents and utility models, which aims to support and encourage inventors.

SAUDI ARABIA

The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) announced that it has been appointed as an International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT/ISA/IPEA), becoming the second international search and examination authority to support the Arabic language. Accordingly, applicants filing PCT applications in the Arabic language can designate SAIP as the International Search Authority (ISA). This accreditation was granted by all 193 members of the WIPO, allowing international patent applicants in member countries to select the SAIP as one of the authorized international search authorities by the WIPO to issue a search report for international patent applications.

SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) declared that apostilled documents issued by competent authorities will be accepted.

BAHRAIN

Documents apostilled or legalized up to Bahraini Embassy will be accepted.

OMAN

Official fees will be reduced for some services for the patent and trademarks during the first quarter of 2023.

EGYPT

Official Fees of Substantive Examination will increase from EGP 17,000 to EGP 25,000 on 2nd of February 2023.

LIBYA

TMO resumes their work on 1st of March 2023 by accepting local application first.

The electronic search and filing system for applications in the Egyptian Patent Office (EGPO-SES)

According to the office’s efforts towards digital transformation, the Egyptian Patent Office announces the start of operation of the (EGO-SES) website for filing applications and electronic services via the Internet at the beginning of next year 2022, starting from Sunday, 2-1-2022. The new system provides many services, mainly:

  • Electronic filing of applications
  • Transferring the applications previously submitted in the office to the electronic system to be followed up electronically via the Internet
  • Follow-up applications
  • Submitting amendments of the application and responding to the office decisions
  • Transfer of ownership or modification of owner data file an appeal
  • Request a true copy of the application or patent and getting the same electronically
  • Requesting To Whom It May Concern Certificate
  • Pay the fees via Visa or MasterCard payment cards
  • Requesting an interview with the examiner
  • Requesting services for translation, proofreading and research
  • Obtaining a patent certificate electronically

Increase of official fees for services in Sudan:

On the 5th of August 2021, the Minister of Justice of Sudan has announced the new official fees for Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Patents for the year and it has increased significantly in comparison with their previous fees. These new fees were published in the official Gazette of Sudan issue no. 1917 and was implemented on 8th of August 2021 which will be applied to all new and pending applications.

Decision of The Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC):

The GCC Patent Office stopped Accepting Patent Applications according to the GCC Patent Law. The GCC Patent Office will issue a clarification statement in this regard within the next few days. Also, the amended Law and Regulation will be published within 4 weeks.

In the meantime, we advise our clients, from the beginning of 5 January 2021, to file the (PCT) and (Paris Convention) Applications separately in each national Patent Office according to the client’s Desire until we get an Official Clarification regarding that matter.

Electronic Activation of Charges of Industrial Applications (Bahrain)

Electronic Activation of Charges of Industrial Applications Submission through Electronic Industrial Properties Services on Internet. Dear sirs/ Agents of Industrial Properties Registration and Their Position Status, After Greetings,,, We would like to attention you that starting from 5 April 2020 the electronic service related to the industrial designs applications will be activated. Note: 1- Receipt of any charges and industrial designs applications will be stopped by hand or through email starting from 5 April 2020. 2- All notices related to charges and industrial designs applications will be sent by email, so kindly attention till you don't miss the legal periods. Hope all success for all Patent Office Foreign Commerce Relations Department.

Memorandum of Agreement between the Kingdom and the People's Republic of China (Saudi Arabia)

Saudi Arabia: Memorandum of Agreement between the Kingdom and the People's Republic of China.. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has issued a Royal Decree No. M / 54 regarding the approval of the Memorandum of Agreement between the Kingdom and China in the field of intellectual property. The regulations and systems of the Memorandum of Agreement for cooperation in the field of intellectual property between the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property in the Kingdom and the National Intellectual Property Administration of the People's Republic of China included 9 articles to enhance cooperation between the two countries in this field.

In the 7th of July 2019, the Official Fees for Trademarks Registration and Renewal decreased in UAE by AED 3,300 for each procedure.

In the 4th of July 2019, the Official Fees for Trademarks and Industrial Designs increased in Egypt by 14% of the basic fees.

Saudi Arabia

Subject to presenting a valid excuse, the Saudi patent office (SPO) has approved an extension of time for claiming priority in entering the national phase for the PCT applications. The Applications will be afforded the opportunity to file their late applications claiming their earliest priority. It's worth mentioning that the applicant must mention the reasons that made him unable to file his application within the thirty (30) month deadline.

Kuwait

As of 27th of February 2018, the Kuwaiti patent office has started accepting PCT examination.