LAWS
Constitution
of Qatar (2004)
IP LAWS
Emiri
Decree No. 53 of 2009 establishing the Center for the Protection of
Intellectual Property Rights (2009).
Commercial Law
No. 27 of 2006 (2007).
Decree Law No.
30 for the year 2006 To Issue Patents Law (2006).
Law No. 19 of
2006 on the Protection of Competition and Prevent Monopolistic Practices (2006).
Law No. 25 of
2005 on Commercial Register (2005).
Law No. 5 of
the year 2005 on Protection of Secrets of Trade (2005).
Law No. 6 of
the year 2005 on Protection of Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits (2005).
Law No. 27 of
2004 on the Protection of the Signs, Slogans, Works and Related Rights of the
Fifteenth Asian Games – Doha 2006 (2004).
Law No. 9 of
2002 on Trademarks, Trade Names, Geographical Indications and Industrial
Designs (2002).
Law No. 7 of
2002 on the Protection of Copyright and Related Rights (2002).
TREATIES
Beijing
Treaty on Audiovisual Performances …
Budapest Treaty
on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Micro-organisms for the
Purposes of Patent Procedure (March 6, 2014).
Patent
Cooperation Treaty (August 3, 2011).
WIPO Copyright
Treaty (October 28, 2005).
WIPO
Performances and Phonograms Treaty (October 28, 2005).
Berne
Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (July 5, 2000).
Paris
Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (July 5, 2000).
Nairobi Treaty
on the Protection of the Olympic Symbol (July 23, 1983).
Convention
Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (September 3, 1976).
The Industrial Property Office
Al Jeedah
Building
First Floor,
Khalifa Street
PO Box 1958,
Doha, Qatar
Tel + 974 4012
2222
Fax + 974 4494
5000
Mail
mbt@mbt.com.qa
www.mbt.gov.qa
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. The prints of a trademark originally in colors
can be submitted in black and white, but should specify the colors to be
claimed.
Once
a trademark application is filed, the trademark is examined as to form and
substance, as Qatar follows the anteriority examination system. Accepted
trademark applications are published in the Official Gazette of Trademarks. Any
interested party may, within 4 months from the date of publication, oppose the
registration of a published trademark.
Trademark Requirements:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. A
certified copy of the priority document (in case priority is to be claimed).
4. 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.
Validity:
-
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:
-
The expected time frame from filing a trademark
application up to registration, on average, in the normal course of action is
from 24 to 27 months.
Recordal of 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.
Recordal of Assignment 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.
A Grace
period of 6 months is given.
Recordal of 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.
Recordal of Agency Agreement:
-
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.
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.
Qatar
has become a member of PCT on August 11, 2011.
Qatar
is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Patent Office. It is a
regional office for the GCC, which comprises the United Arab Emirates, Kingdom
of Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sultanate of Oman, State of Qatar and
State of Kuwait. Certificates of patents granted by the Office secure legal
protection of the inventor's rights in all member states. The Qatar Patent Office has started accepting
PCT national phase applications as of September 2012.
Patent Requirements for PCT and National Patent Applications:
1. A
power of attorney duly legalized up to the Qatari Consulate.
2. An
extract from the Commercial Register or from the Memorandum of Association or
Certificate Incorporation duly legalized up to a Qatari consulate abroad, if
the applicant is a company or body corporate.
3. Three
copies of the complete English specifications and claims together with its
Arabic translation.
4. Three
copies of the abstract of the invention of the invention (patent) in English
and Arabic
5. One
set of the drawings relating to the invention, if any.
6. An
abstract of the invention of no more than 200 words, together with the best
explanatory diagram.
7. A
deed of assignment signed by the inventor, if the applicant is not the
inventor, duly legalized up to a Qatari insulate abroad.
8. 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).
9. 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:
Regarding
the PCT applications 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.
The
Qatari Copyright Law No. 25 of 1995 was issued on July 22, 1995 and published
in the Official Gazette No. 14 dated August 12, 1995. The Implementing
Regulations have not yet been issued; thus, delaying the implementation of the
law.
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.
Currently,
it is possible to deposit a copyright work with the Copyright Protection
Office; however, it is not possible to settle the relevant fees and no filing
certificate will be issued. The Copyright Protection Office will keep the
application in its custody till the issuance of the Implementing Regulations of
the law. In evidence of submitting a copyright work, the office will provide a
letter stating that it received the work only.
Protection
will be granted to authors of literary, artistic and scientific works whatever
the value, kind or purpose or expression of the work is. Generally, the
protection will be provided for works whose means of expression is writing,
sound, drawing, image or motion picture. It also includes creative titles and
computer software.
Filing Requirements:
1. A 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.
TIME FRAME:
-
The approximate time frame for completing the
registration process is one week.