LAWS
The
Interim National Constitution of the Republic of the Sudan, 2005 (2005)
IP
LAWS
Literary
and Artistic Works Act of 2001 (2001)
Antiquities
Protection Law of 1999 (1999)
The Copyright
and Neighboring Rights Protection Act 1996 (1996)
Seeds Act of
1990 (1990)
Industrial
Designs Law No. 18 of 1974 (1974)
Patent Law No.
58 of 1971 (1971)
Trademark Law
No.8 of 1969 (1969)
RULES
AND REGULATION
The
Patents Regulations, 1981 (1981)
TREATIES
Beijing
Treaty on Audiovisual Performances …
Marrakesh
Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind,
Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled …
Patent Law
Treaty …
Protocol
Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of
Marks (February 16, 2010)
Berne Convention
for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (December 28, 2000)
Madrid
Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (May 16, 1984)
Paris
Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (April 16, 1984)
Patent
Cooperation Treaty (April 16, 1984)
Convention
Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (February 15, 1974)
The Registrar General of Intellectual Property (Ministry of Justice)
P.O. Box 744
Khartoum
Sudan
Tel + 249 183
76 05 80
Fax + 249 183
77 98 41
www.moj.gov.sd
P.O. Box 744
Sudan
is a member of the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration
of Marks (Act of Stockholm of 1967). The International Classification of Goods
and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks under the Nice
Agreement is followed in Sudan with the exception of trademarks covering
alcoholic goods, which are not registrable.
Once
a trademark application is filed, it is examined as to its registrability.
Should the mark lack any requirement as provided for in the law and its regulations,
the Registrar of Trademarks will reject the application. The applicant may
appeal to the Registrar for reviewing the rejection. However, if this failed to
give the expected result, the applicant may appeal such rejection to the court
of law.
Application for the registration of a trademark:
1. Five
prints of the mark
2. A Certified
copy of the certificate of incorporation/extract from the commercial register
of the owner of the mark with an English/Arabic translation if not in one of
these 2 languages – the same have to be legalized up to the Sudanese Consulate.
Not required if already filed with the Registrar with a previous application –
just a mention of the number of the said application will suffice.
3. A Power
of attorney duly signed and stamped by the corporate seal of the applicant
company; or otherwise notarized by Notary Public. Legalization up to the
Sudanese Consulate is not required.
4. A Certified
copy of the original application form or any certified priority document is
required when demanding the priority of an earlier registration – no
legalization required. The priority will be claimed only if the application is
filed within 6 months from the date of the application in the country of
origin.
5. The
list of goods and services to be covered by the application. The same should
not cover all the goods and services contained in that one class – one item
must be excluded or 2 applications can be filed for the mark so as to cover all
the goods in that class.
6. Arabic
translation of the goods and filing particulars, namely: name and address of
the owners.
7. The
nationality declaration, under oath, for the issuance of the registration
certificate of the mark should be filed with the Registrar after publication in
the Gazette and just before the end of the period of objection.
The
Trademarks Registrar issued on 8 July 2012 internal circular to the staff of
the Trademark Office to receive applications only when the notarized Power of
Attorney and the legalized Certificate of Incorporation are submitted along with
the application.
Time frame:
-
The approximately time frame from filing a
trade mark application up to registration, in the normal course of action is
from 18 to 20 months.
Search request:
1. Four
prints of the mark.
2. The
class in which the search is to be conducted.
Renewal of a trademark requirements:
1. The
mark registration number and class of goods.
2. A
power of attorney duly signed and stamped by the corporate seal of the
applicant company and notarized by Notary Public. Legalization up to the
Sudanese Consulate is not required.
It
is regulated under the above jurisdiction to submit the power of attorney with
the renewal application, if not the Registrar may sometimes accept the payment
of the renewal fees if we file with the application a copy of the renewal
instruction letter, but he may also refuse the same. The renewal certificate
will not be issued until the power of attorney is filed with him.
Validity:
A
trademark registration in Sudan is valid for 10 years from the date of filing
the trademark application, renewable for periods of 10 years each, upon
application and payment of the official renewal fees. Late renewal of a
trademark registration is permitted until a cancellation decision is published
in the Official Gazette.
Recordal of a change of name and address requirements:
1. A
power of attorney in the new name and/or address duly signed and stamped by the
corporate seal of the applicant’s official seal and duly notarized up to a
Notary Public.
2. A certified copy of the change of name and or address certificate in the home country duly legalized up to the Sudanese Consulate. If not in Arabic or English, a sworn translation in either language of the document should be provided duly legalized up to the Sudanese Consulate.
Recordal of an Assignment requirements:
1- A
deed of assignment and its English/Arabic translation (if applicable) to be
recorded within 6 months from its date of conclusion. The same have to be duly
legalized up to the Sudanese Consulate.
2- Forms
Nos. TM 11 and TM 12 duly completed and signed by both the assignor and
assignee – to be notarized. Specimens are attached.
3- 2
valid powers of attorney from both the assignor and the assignee simply signed
and stamped by the corporate seal of the both of them – no legalization
required.
4- A legalized copy of the certificate of incorporation/extract from the commercial register of the assignee and its English/Arabic translation (if any) – if it has already been filed with the Registrar then it can be dispensed with – just a reference of the trademark number with which it was filed will suffice – can be filed at a later stage.
It
is not permitted to proceed with the recordal of Assignment without the
presence of the above-mentioned documents Nos. 1,2 and 3, but it is permitted
to submit document No.4 at a later stage.
Recordal of merger requirements:
1. A
deed of merger and its English/Arabic translation (if any) duly legalized up to
the Sudanese Consulate. The same has to be recorded within 6 months from its
date of conclusion.
2. A
valid power of attorney simply signed and stamped by the corporate seal of the
merging company and duly notarized up to a Notary Public – no legalization
required.
The
above documents should be filed together with the application for the recordal
of the merger.
Recordal of a licence requirement:
1. A
certified copy of the licence agreement and its English/Arabic (if any) duly
legalized up to the Sudanese Consulate. Registered user must be recorded within
6 months from the date of the licence contract.
2. A
legalized (up to the Sudanese Consulate) copy of the certificate of
incorporation/ extract from the commercial register of the licensee and its
English/Arabic translation (if any) – if it has already been filed with the
Registrar then it can be dispensed with – just a reference of the mark with
which it was filed and its application/registration number will suffice.
3. 2
valid powers of attorney from both the licensor and the licensee simply signed
and stamped by the corporate seal of both of them and duly notarized up to a
Notary Public – no legalization required.
4. Ten
prints of the mark.
Important
remarks:
-
The registration certificate of the mark will
be issued after elapse of the period of objection of 8 months from the date of
the publication in the Gazette. After expiry of opposition term (maximum 8
months), the applicant must complete registration procedure and issuance of
registration certificate within 2 months, otherwise the application will be
considered abandoned.
-
The validity date of the power of attorney
accepted by the Registrar should not be more than 5 years old.
-
The registration certificate will be issued
after payment of the issuance fees and after its revision and signature by the
Registrar – normally from 1 to 3 weeks.
-
The Registrar may sometimes ask for a certified
copy of the corresponding home (country of origin) registration certificate of
the trademark.
Sudan
has been a member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) since April 16, 1984.
For international applications under the PCT designating Sudan, a copy of the
application must be filed within 30 months of the claimed priority date. Both
product and process claims are patentable.
Once
an application for the grant of a patent is filed, it will be examined with
respect to compliance with the formalities and to unity of invention only. Upon
the acceptance of a patent application, the applicant will be notified and
invited to pay the publication fees, then the patent will be granted and
publication of the grant in the Official Gazette will take place. Any refusal
by the Registrar to grant a patent may be appealed before the court. Anyhow,
upon the acceptance of a PCT application, the applicant will be notified and
invited to pay the registration fees and the patent will be granted without
publication of the grant.
Filing Requirements:
1- A Power
of attorney, duly notarized and legalized up to Sudan consulate.
2- One
set of the specifications in English with Arabic translation of the Abstract.
3- One
set of formal drawings.
4- Certificate
of incorporation, legalized, with English translation.
5- Copy of priority document, if priority is claimed, certified.
Items
2 and 3 must be submitted at the time of filing. Documents 1 and 4 may be
submitted as soon as possible after filing date. Document 5 may be submitted
within 3 months from filing date.
Filing with PCT:
Filing Requirements:
1- A Power
of Attorney, simply signed.
2- Three
copies of the specifications in English with Arabic translation of the
Abstract.
3- Three
sets of formal drawings.
4- Certificate
of Incorporation, legalized, with English translation.
5- Copy
of PCT Request.
6- Copy
of International Publication.
7- Copy
of International Search Report.
8- Copy
of International Preliminary Examination Report (if available).
Items
2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8 must be submitted at the time of filing. Documents 1 and 4
may be submitted as soon as possible after filing date.
Validity:
A
patent is valid in Sudan for 20 years from the date of filing the application.
Maintenance fees are due annually counting from the filing date. A 6-month
grace period subject to a fine is allowed for late payment of an annuity. For
PCT patents, the anniversary date of the annuity payments is calculated from
the international filing date.
Annuities:
A
maintenance fee is due annually on the anniversary of the filing date and is
payable before the granting of the patent. There is a 6-month grace period for
late payment with a surcharge.
Sudan
issued the Implementing Regulations for Industrial Designs Law of 1974 in July
1999. Based on these Regulations, the Industrial Designs Office accepts
applications for industrial designs. The Office examines the application in
terms of novelty and makes sure that the filing requirements are fulfilled.
Filing Requirements:
1- A Power
of attorney, duly notarized and legalized up to Sudan consulate.
2- Drawings
of the industrial design.
3- Copy
of the specifications in English with Arabic translation of the Abstract.
4- Certificate
of incorporation, legalized.
5- Copy
of priority document, if priority is claimed, certified.
Documents
1-4 must be submitted at the time of filing. Document 5 may be submitted within
3 months from filing date.
Examination procedures:
-
The Industrial Designs Office examines the
application in terms of novelty and makes sure that the filing requirements are
fulfilled.
Validity:
-
Protection of industrial designs shall be valid
for 5 years from the date of the application, and may be renewed for two
successive 5-year periods. Renewal fees should be paid within 12 months, with a
grace period of 6 months allowed to pay the fees after the lapse of the legal
period provided that a late renewal fee should be paid.
In
Sudan the protection is available to works of fine arts, drawings, photography,
paintings, engravings, sculptures, decorations, musical works, dramatic works,
phonographic, cinem1atography and television films in addition to maps,
manuscripts relating to geography, topography or science.
Filing Requirements:
1- A Power
of Attorney, simply signed.
2- Certified
copy of corresponding home or foreign registration, legalized.
3- 2
copies of the work of art.
Validity:
-
The protection term is the lifetime of the
author plus 25 years following his/her death.
Registration:
-
Both nationals and foreigners are also allowed
to register for copy rights.