Lebanese IP Office Current Operations
Lebanese IP office at the Ministry of Economy and Trade has resumed their activities partially from 25 August 2020 that were suspended as a result of the blast in Beirut. The IP Office started accepting patent and design applications, new trademark applications with a priority claim, renewals and annuities, and all recordal applications. New trademark applications with no priority claim are being submitted online only and examination thereof will start upon full resumption of the IP office operations. As per Lebanese Ministers cabinet law no. 185 which was ruled upon the blast all deadlines (renewals, annuities, priorities, documents submission, legal actions) remain extended officially until 31 December 2020.
Sound Trademark Are “Registrable” in Saudi Arabia
The first sound trademark has been registered in Saudi Arabia with the sound represented on the application by a musical notation and the relative sound trademark registration certificate has been issued by the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) subsequent to a formal examination in accordance with article 2 of the GCC trademark law effective in Saudi Arabia since September 2016 which provides a legal protection to smell marks, color mark and sound marks. Accordingly, applicants wishing to register sound trademark under this jurisdiction can now submit their sound trademarks in the form of a musical note, a written description or MP3 file, provided that the said trademark is distinctive and unique.
It is worth mentioning that though there are no precedents in Saudi Arabia on how prior cases regarding infringement of unconventional sound trademarks have been decided as the existence of such precedents gives an indication of how the local Saudi judicial interpretation of the Law would be in cases involving identical circumstances the question of enforceablity of sound trademarks is a matter solely determined by the articles on trademark infringement as referred to under the GCC Trademark Law.
Saudi Arabia Accession to the Budapest Treaty for the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure
The Saudi Council of Ministers ratified the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure and approved the Kingdom’s accession to the Treaty on 26 August 2020. With signing the Treaty in force, the deposit of a microorganism with an International Depositary Authority (IDA) will satisfy the deposit requirements of the national patent law in Saudi Arabia. The main advantage of this update is that the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) can rely on the Treaty’s uniform standards to assure effective and secure deposit and public availability via the IDAs since an “international depositary authority” is capable of storing biological material and has established procedures that assure compliance with the Budapest Treaty and provides a mechanism of distribution of the deposit. This means that there is no longer a need for Saudi Arabia to independently establish a local recognized depositary to meet national patentability disclosure requirements, which also benefits applicants when filing their patent applications with SAIP by using a single authority for deposit and there will no need to deposit in many countries in which they seek patent protection which will also be lower their cost. Such procedures include requirements that the deposit will remain available for the life of the patent and that samples will be furnished only to those persons or entities entitled to receive them. Currently eighty-two (82) member states of the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purpose of Patent Procedure, signed on April 28, 1977, was amended on September 26, 1980, with Saudi Arabia as the newest member.
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