When the applied-for trademark contains only Latin script, an Arabic transliteration of the mark must be provided. The print of the mark must contain the Arabic text on top of the Latin word(s) in a larger text size.

The above regulation took effect on 2 January 2023.

This update complies with Article (5) of the Iraqi Trademark Law and should help enforce trademark rights against infringements or third parties attempting to file confusingly similar Arabic trademarks.

For more information, please contact iraq@qumsieh.com.

After several rounds of negotiations with the officials in the IP Department, the Ministry has, today, withdrawn said regulations and informed IP agents orally that it is making the PoA requirements as follows:

• Late filing of the PoA is now possible as long as it is within one (1) month of the filing date, however, a softcopy of the PoA is mandatory with the filing;
• One (1) PoA will be sufficient to file multiple applications belonging to the same applicant, and
• The 10-year term of validity of the PoA still stands.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at kuwait@qumsieh.com.

The main aspects of the changes can be summarised as follows:

• PoAs should accompany the application upon filing, and a grace period of 3 months for the late filing of documents is no longer acceptable;
• Each application belonging to the same applicant, requires a separate PoA to complete the filing, and
• The term of validity of the PoA cannot exceed 10 years, renewable within 6 months before expiry.

The above is scheduled to take effect on 5 April 2019, although the final approval of this new regulation is pending at the governing authority.

If you have any questions, please contact kuwait@qumsieh.com.

This new requirement has come into force with immediate effect.

Our clients do not have to do anything, as this is an internal routine that our office will handle.

If you have any questions, please contact qatar@qumsieh.com.

Accordingly, the late filing of documents is allowed for a period of sixty (60) days, after that a payment of OR20 (approximately US$55) will be required. Nonpayment will result in the application lapsing.

The above regulation will come into effect on 1 July 2015.

If you need more information, please contact us at oman@qumsieh.com.

• Legalised power of attorney (PoA) document and its official translation (the official translation is to be provided for each application), and
• Certified company registration certificate (positive proof of identity) and its official translation (the official translation is to be provided for each application).

So, even if we are filing multiple trademark applications for the same applicant, we need to submit official translations of the documents for each application.

For more information, please contact info@qumsieh.com.

• The bilingual legalised power of attorney coming from abroad should be submitted along with a certified translation into Persian again, and
• A company registration certificate is now needed while an excerpt from the commercial register or certificate of incorporation are no longer accepted.

Please note that a simple Persian translation of a commercial register is accepted.

If you have question about our practice in Iran, please contact us at info@qumsieh.com.

Accordingly, any applications with missing documents is required to be completed within 3 months from the above mentioned date, otherwise the application will be treated as abandoned.

For more information please contact bahrain@qumsieh.com.

Coinciding with this change, users of the OHIM system will have the option to file their trademarks with a new “Fast Track” procedure starting on 24 November 2014.

The advantages of the Fast Track:

• Fast Track applications will be published from 4 to 6 weeks or less from the date they are paid, which is half the time as compared to regular applications, and
• Applications save 2 months time from filing to registration.

Regular applications are published from 8 to 11 weeks from payment of the official fees.

Users can choose the Fast Track option for free, but there are some conditions that must be met:

• Users have to select their goods and services from the OHMI’s harmonised database, which contains pre-validated and pre-translated terms, and
• Fees have to be paid at the end of the application process or immediately after submission.

This means that applicants can have a fully registered CTM trademark within 5-6 months.

Where a custom list of goods is required to achieve most coverage, to ensure protection, and to avoid conflicts with other trademarks, the regular paced proceeding is the best option for that purpose.

Should you have any questions please contact info@qumsieh.com.

If you need more information, please contact iraq@qumsieh.com.