Opposition Requirements – NJQ & Associates

Saudi Arabia – Updates for Oppositions And Appeals

NJQ & Associates — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 07:54:17 +0000

RIYADH – A new procedure was put in place for oppositions and appeals in Saudi Arabia effective on January 2017. The new regulation stipulates that submitting counter-statements against oppositions by third parties as well as submitting appeals against refusals made by the Trademark Office (TMO) will have to be made before the designated committee by the TMO rather than the Bureau of Grievance.

Prior to this decision, a legalised power of attorney (PoA) by the Saudi Consulate was required in order to submit such replies. Now, the PoA must be legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice in Saudi Arabia. Counter-statements and appeals will not be accepted if they are not accompanied by the PoA. All other documents, however, should have certified translations into the Arabic language.

It is worth mentioning that if a decision made by TMO against an applicant, then the applicant may appeal such decision before the Court.

If you have any questions, please contact saudi-arabia@qumsieh.com.

UAE – New Update Regarding Oppositions

NJQ & Associates — Sun, 15 Mar 2015 14:50:49 +0000

ABU DHABI – The Head of the Trademarks Department in the Ministry of Economy issued a Decree No. 2 for the year 2015 on 22 February 2015, stating the following:

IP agents should inform the Ministry of any updates regarding oppositions e.g. lack of response, waiver of the opposition, settlement, etc. so they can do what is necessary;
Samples of the publication should accompany the opposition in order to calculate the opposition period;
The fees of the hearing of AED250 should be settled in a timely manner;
All accompanying documents should have certified translation;
After the hearing, a decision will be made immediately;
The hearing time will be no more than 30 minutes, after which the session will be called off, and
If more documents are requested by the Ministry, the agent should provide the same within three (3) days.

Should you have any questions, please contact uae@qumsieh.com.

UAE – Updates on Trademarks Procedures

NJQ & Associates — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 21:52:19 +0000

The Trademark Office in UAE has issued a circular letter on 30 March 2014, with an effective date of 1 April 2014, setting forth new rules regarding powers of attorney (PoA) as follows:

New trademark applications will only be accepted if accompanied by a legalised PoA (late filing within 3 months is no longer permissible);
Recordals to change name, address, assignments, mergers, etc . are only allowed after the registration of the subject trademark; however, corrections of typos are the only accepted type of modifications to a non-registered trademark (during prosecution of the application), and
Oppositions must include a PoA when initiating an opposition against a published mark.

If you have any questions regarding the above, please contact us at uae@qumsieh.com.

Saudi Arabia – New Requirements for Oppositions

NJQ & Associates — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 16:38:46 +0000

As you may know, an opposition against a published trademark or Registrar Decision is filed before the Bureau of Grievance which is equal to the Supreme Court, and the opposition period is 90 days from the date of advertisement or the date of notification of the opposition.

Having said that, the new required document in addition to the legalised power of attorney is a photocopy of certificate of incorporation, an extract from the commercial register, or a certificate issued by the Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the applicant provided that the business activity is mentioned in the certificate.

Please note that the above documents have to be filed upon submitting the opposition, otherwise it will not be received by the authority.

It is required to provide the following documents:

Photocopy of registration abroad;
Evidence of use in Saudi Arabia, in the region, or abroad, and
Information about similar cases with successful results in other jurisdictions if any.

If you have any questions on the above or need assistance, please contact us at saudi-arabia@qumsieh.com.