South Sudan:
Trademark reservation:
It is now possible to “reserve” trademark applications in South Sudan with the Ministry of Justice so that by the time the Trademark Bill “the Bill”, which is currently pending approval by the Parliament, has passed into law, owners of reserved trademarks will have prior rights that will debar third parties from filing and registering a similar or identical mark when South Sudan reopens for trademark applications again.
By way of background, the Ministry of Justice in South Sudan started accepting trade mark applications in 2014 under the Sudanese Trade Mark Law No.8 of 1969 (“the Sudanese Act”), but this has since been stopped until 2023 wherein the Ministry allowed MTN Group (mobile telecommunication company) to “reserve” one of their trademarks
Qatar:
The Gulf Cooperation Council Patent Office to examine Patents:
The Gulf Cooperation Council Patent Office (GCCPO) has recently announced that it will start accepting new filings and performing formality and substantive examination of patents on behalf of Qatar pursuant to the amended GCC patent Law of April 2021 and its regulation. Meanwhile, once a patent application is accepted, it will be published and granted by the respective patent offices.
Currently, there are three countries which GCCPO can cover namely Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar while it is expected that Qatar inclusion to the Gulf Cooperation Council Patent Office be published in the official gazette No. 76.
Kuwait:
Trademark searches:
As of January 2023, it became possible to conduct official searches with the Kuwaiti trademark’s office subject to payment of the official fees and obtain the official search report on the availability of the trademark or not along with the complete particulars of any allocated similar or identical trademark.
For any further information on the above, please contact JAH Intellectual Property to info@jahcoip.com