On the 20th of April, Alyafi IP Group delivered the last webinar in a series of webinars on Foreign Filing Strategies held by the Norwegian Association of Intellectual Property Administrators – NAIPA.
The webinar covered Patents in the Gulf Cooperation Council – GCC. In particular, the decision issued by the GCC Supreme Council during its 41st meeting on January 5, 2021. That decision stipulated that an amended GCC Patent Law was approved and, as of January 6, 2021, the GCC Patent Office – GCCPPO will no longer be accepting new patent application filings.
During the webinar we discussed the past, present and an assessment of what the future of the GCC Patent Office may look like. We also highlighted key risks and issues Patent owners may face due to the decision issued on Jan 5 and suggestions on how to mitigate these risks in the short term.
We are looking forward to the issuance of the new law along with the implementing regulations in order to provide further guidance to patent owners.
We would like to thank NAIPA and its sister associations for this opportunity and look forward to providing further clarity and guidance on the matter.
We are available for any question or concern you may have on Patent matters in the GCC states.
Lea El Feghali
