UAE: Introducing New Fees for Patents, Designs, Utility Models Services

The UAE Ministry of Economy has circulated on November 20, 2023 an official letter introducing new Patent, Design and Utility Model fees, which were approved by the UAE Cabinet of Ministers under Resolution No. (112) of 2023 to amend some provisions of Cabinet Resolution No. (20) of 2020 regarding fees of services provided by the Ministry of Economy.

Some of the most notable changes are the introduction of new fees for small and medium businesses (SMEs) and also the reinstatement of official fees for all free-of-charge services provided previously by the Ministry, amongst which annuities and change of representation. The said decision will be put in force two months after being published in the UAE Official Gazette.

Gaza: All Services are Currently Suspended by the Trademarks Office

Due to the ongoing war in Gaza strip, the trademarks office therein has suspended all of its services until further notice. In this regard, it should be noted that the current war is considered as force majeure, leading to the suspension of all legal deadlines falling within the war period.

As for the West Bank, a second decree by law was issued on November 9, 2023, extending the suspension of legal deadlines for an additional thirty days. Consequently, deadlines in the West Bank are slated to resume on December 7, 2023, unless further decrees are enacted.

Please note that JAH Intellectual Property is really committed to maintain IP rights in Palestine and shall diligently report any updates occurring in this jurisdiction timely.

Turkish Patent Office to Handle the Non-Use Cancellation Requests as of 10/01/2024

Staring from the 10th of January 2024, the Turkish Patent Office “TÜRKPATENT” will become the only authorized party (not the courts) to decide upon trademark cancellation actions based on non-use. In this regard, the cancelation process will change to an administrative procedure instead of a court procedure. Equally, TÜRKPATENT will be entitled to rule the total or partial cancellation a registered trademark. However, such decision of the Institute can still be contested before the specialized IP Court.

China: Apostille Convention Enters into Force

As part of its great efforts to simplify public documents execution and use, China has officially become a member of the Apostille Convention which entered into force on November 7, 2023. Chinese trademark applicants can now have their documents apostilled by their Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), as the only competent authority entrusted with apostilles of documents, which will be recognizable in all 125 contracting states of the Hague Convention, amongst which are Arab and African Hague Convention members under our purview where we operate in the IP domain that require legalization of documents (Oman, Bahrain & Saudi Arabia).  Furthermore, apostille will also replace the often long and costly legalization process through the embassies of the member states.