Trademark Requirements:

A power of attorney signed and witnessed by a Notary Public or any authentication party, and legalized up to a Qatari consulate abroad. A general power may be used for subsequent filings.

A certified copy of the certificate of incorporation of the applicant company, or an extract of the entry of the applicant in the commercial register will be sufficient.

A certified copy of the priority document (in case priority is to be claimed).

Five prints of the mark for each application.

Documents 1 and 2 must be submitted at the time of filing. The original certified copy of the priority document should be submitted at the time of filing the application. Late filing of documents is not permitted under the practice of the Qatari Trademark Registrar unless priority will be claimed whereby a trademark application can be filed without the requisite documents 1 & 2 which can be submitted at a later stage without a time limit and at no additional cost.

Qatar follows the International Classification of Goods and Services (7th Edition); therefore a separate application should be filed for each class of goods or services. However, class 33, alcoholic goods in class 32, and pork meat in class 29 cannot be registered in Qatar.

Trademark registrations are valid for 10 years from filing date and are renewable for like periods and the time frame for completing the registration process is 12 to 15 months.

Time frame from filing a trademark application up to registration, on average, in the normal course of action; i.e. in case that no office action is raised by the trademark registrar or oppositions are lodged by third parties:

Filing up to Examination : 18-20 months

Examination up to Publication : 2-3 months

Opposition Period : 2 months from publication date

End of Opposition Period up to Issuance of Registration Certificate : 1-3 weeks

Total Estimated Time Frame : 24-27 months

Registered User/ License Agreement Requirements:

A power of attorney signed by the licensee, stamped with its official seal, and legalized up to a Qatari consulate or any Arab consulate.

An authenticated license agreement executed by the parties and duly legalized up to a Qatari consulate abroad.

A simple copy of the certificate of incorporation of the licensee.

In Qatar a license agreement has to be in writing. Licensing of unregistered marks is not permitted. Licenses can only be recorded for registered trademarks. A trademark may be licensed for some or all of the goods or services in respect of which the trademark is registered. The sale of a registered trademark does not automatically terminate the license, unless this is provided for as such in the sale agreement or in the license agreement originally executed by the parties. There are no statutory provisions prescribing the terms of a license agreement, but the terms and conditions agreed upon between the two parties constitute the license agreement. There are provisions in law for the recordal of a licensee. The recordal is not mandatory, but it will not have any effect against third parties unless recorded in the Trademarks Register and published in the Trademarks Gazette. There is no time frame for a recordal and there is no prescribed form or content for the validity of a license agreement.

Effectiveness of licenses:

The license agreement becomes effective and enforceable against third parties from the date of signature of the agreement, provided that it is recorded in the Trademarks Register and published in the Trademarks Gazette.

Assignment Recordal Requirements:

A power of attorney simply signed by the assignee company, sealed with its official stamp, and duly legalized up to a Qatari consulate or any other Arab consulate.

A deed of assignment executed by the two parties and duly legalized up to the Consulate of Qatar or any Arab consulate.

A simple copy of the certificate of incorporation of the assignee.

Renewal Requirements:

A power of attorney simply signed by the owner of the mark and stamped with its official seal, and duly legalized up to a Qatari consulate abroad.

Grace period of 6 months is given.

Time frame from filing a trademark renewal application up till issuance of the renewal certificate:

Change of Name and/or address:

A power of attorney in the new name and/or address simply signed and sealed with the official stamp of the registrant company duly legalized up to a Qatari consulate abroad.

A certified copy of the certificate of change of name and/or address.

Agency Agreement requirements:

A legalized power of attorney authorizing us to records the agency agreement.

A copy of the agency agreement executed by the principal and his agent legalized up to a Qatari consulate abroad.

Full particulars of the principal and his agent.

Statement of the goods or services nominated by the agency agreement.

Rights and liabilities of the agent and principal, and the principal’s responsibilities towards his agent’s obligations with clarifying the protection of profit or commission.

Opposition proceedings:

Every concerned party may submit, within four months of the publication date, a written opposition to the trademark registration. The Office shall provide the applicant with a copy of the opposition notice within two months of submission by a recommended letter. The registrant may submit, within two month of the notice, a caused written response to this opposition. If the registrant fails to submit the response within the specified period, he would be considered as relinquished his right to the application. The Office may provide a hearing for the parties or one of them or their attorneys to present their pleadings and statements before settling the objection. The decision of the Office regarding the opposition may be contested before the competent civil court within sixty days of notification to the concerned by a registered mail against a receipt. The trademark is registered and recorded in the register after a final decision or ruling is passed to accept the trademark. The registration shall be effective as from the date of filing the application. The registration of the trademark shall be published in the Journal.

Infringement proceedings:

There is no evidentiary presumption that use of a recorded licensee is permitted use. The licensee may join the trademark owner in infringement proceedings and may also call upon the owner to institute infringement proceedings, but he may not institute proceedings in his own name if the proprietor refuses or neglects to do so. The licensee can take action against infringements only if he is so authorized by the legitimate owner of the trademark, or if this is expressly provided for in the licence agreement.

Patent Requirements for PCT and National Patent Applications:

A power of attorney duly legalized up to the Qatari Consulate.

An extract from the Commercial Register or from the Memorandum of Association or Certificate fIncorporation duly legalized up to a Qatari consulate abroad, if the applicant is a company or body corporate.

Three copies of the complete English specifications and claims together with its Arabic translation.

Three copies of the abstract of the invention of the invention (patent) in English and Arabic

One set of the drawings relating to the invention, if any.

An abstract of the invention of no more than 200 words, together with the best explanatory diagram.

A deed of assignment signed by the inventor, if the applicant is not the inventor, duly legalized up to a Qatari insulate abroad.

A certified copy of the application giving the filing date, number and country if the application is to be filed with a priority claim (which is not required for PCT Application and only needed for national patent applications).

Full details of corresponding application of the patent filed in other countries.

Please note that the documents in item (3, 4, 5 and 6) should be submitted at the patent office on the filing date of the application, while documents in items (1, 2, 7 and 8) can be submitted within six months (strictly non-extendible) days from the filing date of the Patent Application.

FOR PCT applications entering the national phase in the Qatar, a copy of the PCT international publication search and examination reports must be submitted with the application.

It is worth mentioning that the filing, publication and technical examination should be paid within three (3) months as from the filing date of the patent applications.

According to the Qatari Patent Law, annual maintenance fees are due on the anniversary of the International filing date for national phase of PCT applications and on the anniversary of the national filing date for non-PCT applications (including both priority and non-priority applications).

Request for substantial examination is obligatory.

It is possible for the applicant to submit a request for amendment of the technical indications provided it such an amendment maintains the subject of the patent.

Industrial Designs Law No. 9 of 2002 was issued on June 8, 2002 and published in the Official Gazette in Qatar, but the Implementing Regulations have not yet been issued.

As there are no statutory design laws in force in Qatar, the only available means for protecting designs is publishing cautionary notices in Arabic and English in local newspapers.

Cautionary notices define the owner’s interest in industrial property, announce the ownership thereto, and alert the public against any possible infringement. Such publication of notices could be of considerable assistance in case of litigation.

There is no standing regulation as to when a cautionary notice should be republished. A cautionary notice is not as effective as a registration and is not deposited with any government department. Consequently, republication of cautionary notices at reasonable intervals acts as a reminder to the public and helps ward off eventual infringers.

FILING REQUIREMENTS

1. Power of attorney, legalized.
2. Name of author(s).
3. Subject of the work.
4. 5 copies of the work.
5. Detailed specification of the work.
6. Written declaration of the ownership of the work
7. Approval of the work by the competent department in the applicant’s country.

REGISTRATION TIME FRAME

The approximate time frame for completing the registration process is one week.

Note: A new law on the Protection of Copyright and Neighbouring Right (Law No. 7 of 2002) was issued in Qatar but the Implementing Regulations have not yet been issued.