OMAN: ONLINE SERVICES
This is to advise you that the Intellectual Property Directorate at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion announced that all intellectual property services will be gradually conducted online starting with the filing of new trademark applications as of March 7, 2021 via the PTO’s proprietary “Invest Easy” portal. As of this date the previous procedures requiring the physical presence of our firm representative in person for the submission of new trademark applications in papers is no more applicable. Also, it has been declared by the Intellectual Property Directorate that this new practice will significantly speed up procedures at the PTO, undoubtedly facilitate the registration process and a 20% fee on the paid official fees for using the online portal for all trademark matters which will be capped at a maximum increase of OMR 20 (around USD 52) per application. This online system will gradually cover all other IP actions.
UAE: Strasbourg Agreement and Budapest Treaty
UAE has become party to the Strasbourg Agreement (Concerning the International Patent Classification) and the Budapest Treaty (Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure).
The approvals for the above treaties were announced through Federal Decrees 165 and 168 respectively on November 10, 2020 and published in the Official Gazette on December 15, 2020.
SOMALIA: Trademark Registration
Following the issuance of Ministerial Decree 1 of 2019, the Somali Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) has officially resumed operations with the pre-federal IP law remaining in force until new legislation is passed. The earlier system of publishing cautionary notices is no longer applicable.
As per the announcement a pre filing obligatory search which is conducted by the TMO is mandatory subsequent to which the trademark maybe filed; standalone searches are not available. The applications are then examined to determine its inherent registrability and conflict with prior existing registrations applications. Once accepted the application will be advertised in the Local Gazette IP website for opposition purposes (45 days)
For detailed information regarding the filing procedure and charges in relation thereto feel free to write to us.
Should you have any questions, or require any additional information on the above updates or any Ip matters in our region, please contact us at info@jahcoip.com