LAWS
Constitution
of the Kingdom of Iraq (2005).
IP LAWS
Law
No. 9 of 2010 on Registration Fees for Iraqi, Arab and Foreign Trademarks and
Trade Names (2010).
Law No. 28 of
1999 – First Amendment to Law No. 65 of 1970 on Patents and Industrial Designs
(1999).
Law No. 21 of
1957 on Trademarks and Trade Names (1957).
Law No. 34 of
1938 amending Law No. 39 of 1931 on Trademarks (1938).
IP LAWS
Law
No. 26 of 1998 on the Second Amendment to the Law No. 54 of 1979 on the Central
Organization for Standardization and Quality Control (1998).
Law No. 22 of
1996 on The First Amendment of the Law on the Central Organization for
Standardization and Quality Control (1996).
Decision of the
Revolutionary Command Council No. 194 of 1994 associating the Central Organization
for Standardization and quality control with the Secretariat of the President
of the Council of Minister (1994).
Law No. 25 of
1941 regulating the Manufacture and Trade of Soap (1941).
Law No. 59 of
1936 on Ancient Monuments (1936).
Law No. 9 of
2010 amending Law No. 21 of 1957 on Trademarks and Trade Names (2010).
Order No. 83,
Amendment to the Copyright Law (2004).
Order No. 80,
Amendment to the Trademarks and Descriptions Law No. 21 of 1957 (2004).
Order No. 81
Patent, Industrial Design, Undisclosed Information, Integrated Circuits and
Plant Variety Law. (2004).
Law No. 55 of
2002 on Antiquities and Heritage (2002).
Law No. 11 of
2002 on the Fifth Amendment to Law No. 40 of 1988 on the Ministry of Higher
Education and Scientific Research (2002).
Law No. 7 of
2002 amending Law No. 1 of 1998 on Creative Incentive (2002).
Law No. 5 of
2002 amending Law No. 65 of 1970 on Patents and industrial designs (2002).
TREATIES
Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks (November 29, 2014).
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (January 24, 1976).
Convention
Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (January 21, 1976).
Ministry of Industry Group/Legality Office Department
of Trade Marks & Geographical Indication
Al-Nidal
St. Baghdad, Iraq
Tel
+ 964 1 816 2006
Mail
info@iq-tmo.com
Email:
registrar@iq-tmo.com, dept_head@iq-tmo.com
www.iq-tmo.com
or www.industry.gov.iq
Iraq
is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
Registration of trademarks in Iraq is effective under the provisions of
Trademarks and Descriptions Law No. 21 of 1957 and its subsequent amendments.
Order No. 80 issued by the Coalition Provisional Authority on April 26, 2004,
amended the aforementioned trademarks law. The law was renamed the
"Trademark and Geographical Indications Law.
The
classes of goods are subdivided. The wording of the goods to be included in the
application should be in conformity with the local classification, which is
almost identical to the International Classification of Goods and Services for
the Purposes of the Registration of Marks under the Nice Agreement. An
application can include goods in any number of classes, but with additional
charges for each additional class.
Trademark Requirements:
The following documents and information are required for filing a
trademark application in Iraq:
1- The
name, address, nationality, and occupation of the applicant.
2- A Power
of attorney legalized up to the Consulate of Iraq. However, if your clients
cannot legalize it up to the Iraqi Consulate, kindly try to legalize it up to
the Qatari Consulate and we shall complete the legalization in Qatar at the cost
of USD 285. Please note that the legalized Power of Attorney MUST be also
legalized in Iraq from (the Central Bank, General Tax Commission and the
Ministry of External Affairs) to be acceptable by the Iraqi Trademarks Office.
3- The
classes and subclasses of the goods to be covered by the application. The
wording of the list of goods/services to be protected should conform to the
local classification, which is similar to the International Classification.
4- Ten
prints of the trademark. It is advisable that the necessary prints in the
combined Arabic and Latin scripts be prepared locally, as the trademark should
be filed in a specific form: the Arabic script should be shown above the Latin
script and in large lettering.
5- A
certified copy of the priority document duly legalized up to the Iraqi
Consulate.
Notes:
Multi-class
and sub-classes systems are applied at the Iraqi Trademarks Office, and the
total costs for registration of a trademark in Iraq depend on the number of
sub-classes covered by the application. International classes of the goods and
services to be covered by the application are divided into subclasses which is
similar to the International Classification.
We
are pleased to inform you that the Registrar at the Iraqi Trademarks Office has
reversed his decision regarding submitting the legalized Power of Attorney at
the filing stage, and accepting the new applications without the POA while the
same could be filed belatedly within NON-EXTENDABLE SIX months from the filing.
Time frame:
The
expected time frame from filing a trademark application up to registration in
the normal course of action is from 42 to 62 months.
Renewal:
1- A
duly Notarized and legalized Power of Attorney in the name of the owner.
It
is possible for us to proceed with the renewal of these trademark applications
immediately though the registrations certificates of these trademarks are not
issued. What matters most is the fact that the opposition period against the
registrations of these trademarks applications has been lapsed without being opposed
by third parties against the registration of your client’s titled trademarks.
As such, these trademarks are considered virtually registered and we may file
the renewal applications in favor of these trademarks immediately upon
receiving your instructions. However, we recommend paying the registration fees
and issuing the registration certificates of the trademarks so as to effectuate
the renewal action since the renewal will be maintained in abeyance till the
trademarks are processed into registration.
Recordal of change of Change of Name:
1- A Power
of Attorney with the new name legalized up to an Iraqi consulate abroad.
2- A Certificate
of change of name legalized up to an Iraqi consulate abroad.
Recordal of change of Address:
1- A Power
of Attorney with the new address legalized up to an Iraqi consulate abroad.
Recordal of Assignment:
1- A Power
of Attorney in the name of the assignee legalized up to an Iraqi consulate
abroad.
2- A Deed
of assignment legalized up to an Iraqi consulate abroad.
Registered user/license requirements:
A
license agreement has to be in writing. It is permitted to license the use of
registered and pending 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.
There are no specific statutory provisions in the Iraqi Civil or Commercial Law
stipulating the terms or conditions for the licensing of trademarks. There are
no mandatory provisions in law for the recordal of a licensee. Recordal is
voluntary, but a license will not have legal effect vis-à-vis third parties
unless it is recorded and published. There is no time frame for a recordal and
there is no prescribed form or content for the validity of a license agreement.
The terms and conditions agreed upon between the parties will constitute the
license agreement.
The following documents are required for a recordal:
1- A Power
of attorney duly legalized up to an Iraqi Consulate, with the legalization
stamp affixed to the back of the document. If it is not possible to legalize
the document up to an Iraqi Consulate, it may be legalized up to a Jordanian
Consulate.
2- A legalized license agreement, executed by the licensor and the licensee (preferably in English) as well as two copies thereof.
Effectiveness of Registered user/license
When
the license agreement is recorded in the Trademark Register and published in
the Official Gazette, it will be effective and enforceable vis-à-vis third parties
from the application date for the recordal. The license is published in the
Official Gazette and in two local newspapers.
In Iraq,
once an application for the grant of a patent is filed, it is examined with
respect to compliance with the formalities and patentability provided for under
the patent law. The Patent Office may require whatever amendments may be necessary
to bring the application into conformity with the law. In the event the
applicant does not comply with the requirements of the Patent Office within a
given grace period as authorized by the Registrar, a patent application will be
treated as renounced.
Once
an application is accepted, the grant decision will be published after which
the relevant letters patent will be issued. It takes at least 2 to 3 years for
the letters patent to be issued after the usual acceptance process, and this
involves additional costs to the applicant.
Validity Term:
A
patent is valid for 20 years starting from the date of completing the
application submitted to the Patent Office. Such validity is subject to the
payment of the prescribed annual fees that are calculated from the date of
completing the filing requirements. All the unpaid annuities are collected from
the applicant with a retroactive effect upon the grant of the patent.
Annuity Fees:
Annuities
are to be paid every year on the anniversary date of completing the relevant
file at the Patent Office with the required documents. However, payment
of annuities may not be made to the Patent Office except after the grant of the
patent.
Patent Filing Requirements:
1- A
Power of Attorney duly legalized up to the Consulate of Iraq. It must be
legalized and the legalization stamp must appear on the back of the power sheet
itself, otherwise the registrar will reject the Power of Attorney. However, if
your client cannot legalize it up to the Iraqi Consulate, kindly try to legalize
it up to the Jordanian Consulate and we shall complete the legalization in
Jordan.
2- The
name, address, occupation and nationality of the applicant.
3- Eight
copies of the summary of the invention in English with the Arabic translation.
4- Eight
copies of the specifications and claims in English with the Arabic translation.
5- Eight
sets of the drawings, if any.
6- Certified
copy of the priority document duly legalized up to the Iraqi Consulate in case
priority is to be claimed.
7- Assignment
deed from the inventor(s) duly legalized up to the Iraqi Consulate, in case the
applicant is not the inventor himself.
N.B:
It
is not applicable under the Iraqi regulations to conducting a patent search.
Patent Registration System:
Once
an application for the grant of a patent is filed, it is examined with respect
to compliance with formalities and patentability provided for under the Iraqi
Patent Law.
The
Patent Office may require whatever amendments that may be necessary to bring
the application into conformity with the law. In the event the applicant does
not comply with the requirements of the Patent Office within a given grace
period as authorized by the Registrar, the patent application will be treated
as renounced.
Patent applications are examined closely as to the contents and novelty of the invention. Once an application is accepted, the relevant letters patent will be issued. It takes at least two to three years for the letters patent to be issued after the usual acceptance process. Annuities are to be paid every year on the anniversary date of completing the relevant file at the Patent Office with the required documents. However, payment of annuities may not be made to the Patent Office except after the grant of the patent.
A patent is valid for fifteen years starting from the date of completing the application submitted to the Patent Office. Such validity is subject to payment of the prescribed annual fees. All the unpaid annuities are collected from the applicant with a retroactive effect upon the grant of the patent.
The
rights to a patent may be assigned or transferred through succession. The
assignment of patent applications and granted patents must be made in writing.
An assignment shall have no effect against third parties unless it has been published
in the Official Gazette and duly entered in the relevant records of the Patent
Office.
Working
of patents is an official requirement in Iraq. In the event that the owner of a
patented invention in Iraq does not satisfy the stipulated working requirements
of the country within three years as from the date of grant or if working the
invention ceases for two consecutive years, then the patent will be subject to
compulsory licensing under the provisions of the law. Patentees are not
required to effect nominal workings of their patents.
1- A
Power of Attorney duly legalized up to the Consulate of Iraq. It must be
legalized and the legalization stamp must appear on the back of the power sheet
itself, otherwise the registrar will reject the Power of Attorney. However, if
your client cannot legalize it up to the Iraqi Consulate, kindly try to
legalize it up to the Jordanian Consulate and we shall complete the
legalization in Jordan.
2- A
duly legalized certificate of change of name issued by the Chamber of Commerce
or any competent authority.
Recordal of Change of Address:
1- A
Power of Attorney duly legalized up to the Consulate of Iraq. It must be
legalized and the legalization stamp must appear on the back of the power sheet
itself, otherwise the registrar will reject the Power of Attorney. However, if
your client cannot legalize it up to the Iraqi Consulate, kindly try to
legalize it up to the Jordanian Consulate and we shall complete the
legalization in Jordan.
Recordal of Assignment:
1- A
Power of Attorney duly legalized up to the Consulate of Iraq. It must be
legalized and the legalization stamp must appear on the back of the power sheet
itself, otherwise the registrar will reject the Power of Attorney. However, if
your client cannot legalize it up to the Iraqi Consulate, kindly try to
legalize it up to the Jordanian Consulate and we shall complete the
legalization in Jordan.
2- A
duly legalized deed of assignment signed by the assignor and the assignee and
two photo static copies of the same.
In
Iraq, the procedures for the registration and protection of designs in Iraq are
similar to those of patents, except for the requirement of two miniature models
of the design made of plastic or metal. A design registration is valid for 7
years.
Maintenance fees:
Annual
fees (Annuities) are to be paid to maintain the design registration. Renewal of
a design registration is not provided for in the law.
Design Requirements:
1- A Power
of attorney with eight-point boycott questionnaire concerning Israel boycott
duly legalized up to -the Iraqi Consulate. All questions must be answered by
the applicant.
2- Eight
copies of the summary description of the design.
3- Two
miniature models of the design.
4- The
name, address, nationality and occupation of the applicant.
5- 8
copies of the drawings or reproductions of the design.
Notes:
-
The necessary documents for patents and designs
can be submitted with three months from the date of filing, which is also
extendable for another 3 months subject to surtax. A design registration in
Iraq is valid for 10 years starting from the registration date. Annuities are
to be paid anniversary from the registration date to maintain the design
registration. Renewal of a design registration is not provided in the Iraqi
law.
-
It is not applicable under the Iraqi regulations
to conducting a design search.
Recordal of change of Name:
1- A
Power of Attorney duly legalized up to the Consulate of Iraq. It must be
legalized and the legalization stamp must appear on the back of the power sheet
itself, otherwise the registrar will reject the Power of Attorney. However, if
your client cannot legalize it up to the Iraqi Consulate, kindly try to
legalize it up to the Jordanian Consulate and we shall complete the
legalization in Jordan.
2- A
duly legalized certificate of change of name issued by the Chamber of Commerce
or any competent authority.
Recordal of change of Address:
1- A
Power of Attorney duly legalized up to the Consulate of Iraq. It must be
legalized and the legalization stamp must appear on the back of the power sheet
itself, otherwise the registrar will reject the Power of Attorney. However, if
your client cannot legalize it up to the Iraqi Consulate, kindly try to
legalize it up to the Jordanian Consulate and we shall complete the
legalization in Jordan
The
amended Copyright Law No. 3 of 1971, Order No. 83 issued by the Coalition
Provisional Authority on April 29, 2004, governs the protection of copyright in
Iraq. However, the aforementioned law is in stages of implementation.
In
order to gain protection, the publishers of copyrightable works will have to
deposit copies of the work with the Ministry of Culture. Protection is granted
to every Intellectual Property work of art no matter what its type, method of
expression, importance and purpose is.