The Port of Sudan office, while active, operated with limited capacity. For example, while new intellectual property applications were accepted in chronological order to preserve applicants’ priority rights, subsequent procedures—such as examination and publication—were postponed until full operations could be resumed.

With conditions in Khartoum now showing signs of improvement, the IPO has confirmed that it will fully resume its functions at its original headquarters by the beginning of November 2025.

Due to the turbulent situation, and to ensure consistency of its data, the IPO now requests that all renewal and recordal applications be accompanied by a photocopy of the trademark registration certificate, the last renewal certificate, or the last recordal certificate.

For further information, please contact sudan@qumsieh.com.

Applicants seeking to register trademarks in this class must now submit a formal declaration confirming the following:

• The trademark is being registered for priority rights protection only, and
• The mark will not be used within the Yemeni market.

This declaration is subject to an official fee of YR 30,000 and may be drafted by legal officers at the Department.

It is important to note that this declaration is only a formality and does not authorise the commercial use of pharmaceutical or medical goods in Yemen. Actual use of such goods remains strictly dependent upon obtaining a separate licence from the Supreme Authority for Medicines and Medical Supplies.

This new requirement replaces the Department’s previous policy, which had been in effect for several months, whereby applicants were required to provide a license from the Supreme Authority to proceed with trademark applications in Class 5.

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

The TMO has reverted to its earlier practice of not requiring the submission of the original trademark registration certificate when recording a transfer of ownership. Previously, the original certificate had to be filed for endorsement purposes, adding an additional step for applicants.

Under the updated procedure, the documentation needed for an assignment is now limited to the following:

• a Power of Attorney;
• a Deed of Assignment; and
• a scanned copy of the registration certificate.

Our firm will continue to follow legislative and procedural updates in Lebanon and across the region, ensuring our clients are informed of all developments relevant to the protection and management of their intellectual property rights.

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

Said decision took effect on 1 September 2016. Accordingly, we ask our clients to send us legalised PoAs as well as other original documents related to any recordal transactions along with their instructions.

Priority documents, however, do not require legalisation and can be submitted within 2 months of the filing date (a photocopy by email is required for filing).

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

Previously, only companies were allowed to apply for trademark registrations. Any individual who does not have commercial register is not entitled to seek trademark registration.

For more information, please contact oman@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.

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.

The main aspects of the said decision are listed below.

Classification of the list of goods and services
Applicants may list the goods and services of interest with or without referring to the class number. Several classes may by listed under same application, however the Sudan Trade Marks Act of 1969 recognises Nice Classifications and applies a single class system.

Filing requirements
A legalised power of attorneys and extract from commercial register should accompany the application.

However, the matter of authentication of documents is not clear at the Trademark Office. For example, while documents are required to be legalised by the South Sudan consulates, there are no consulates abroad, making the notarization of power by notary public acceptable.

Publications and oppositions
The Trademark Office is not publishing any accepted applications for opposition purposes according to the Sudan Trade Marks Act of 1969. Within a few days after completing the formalities, the trademark is registered and the registration certificate is issued.

However at any time, it is possible to file an opposition against any registered trademark before the Registrar and then appeal at the High Court.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that a draft law has passed to the government. We are trying to obtain a copy, and it is hoped to be implemented by the end of this year.

For more information please contact us at info@qumsieh.com.

• 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.

Furthermore, the following information must be indicated clearly on each PoA:

• Full name and address of the applicant;
• Name and title of signatory person;
• Trademark name and prints of the mark if the mark is logo, and
• The intended class(es) of goods/services of the application.

For more information, please contact us at algeria@qumsieh.com.