According to the Ministerial Decree number 1/2019 issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Trademark Office (TMO) in the Federal Republic of Somalia has resumed its operations as of November 2019.

Previously, it was possible to protect Intellectual Property (IP) rights (trademarks, patents, industrial designs, etc.) only by publishing a “cautionary notice” in a local newspaper due to the closure of the Intellectual Property Office in Somalia for many years and due to the lack of formal IP legislation in the Republic.

The above Decree did not harness the matter of patents or designs, as of yet, there is no patent or design registration procedure in the Ministry, and the only way to obtain protection is through publishing a “cautionary notice” in a local newspaper.