Treaties are the main part of the international law and its main role is to regulate the mutual relationships and benefits among countries. Therefore, we can’t deny the importance of the treaties that are related to protect intellectual property rights which is essential for supporting innovation. Therefore, every country signs several treaties and agreements related to intellectual property rights for the purpose of protecting inventions, and all other related IP types. In this article we will emphasize on the treaties that Jordan is part of it.
The Jordanian parliament has adopted legislation and guidelines to protect trademarks. Also, signed international conventions and treaties like: WIPO, Nice agreement, the Paris convention, Vienna agreement and TRIPS Agreement.
- Convention on establishing World Intellectual Property Organization WIPO – 1972
WIPO is an intergovernmental organization that became in 1974 one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations system of organizations. The WIPO Convention, the constituent instrument of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), was signed at Stockholm on July 14, 1967, entered into force in 1970 and was amended in 1979.
Jordan Joined WIPO in 1972 to promote the protection of intellectual property worldwide
- 1957 – Nice agreement:
The International Classification of Goods and Services also known as the Nice Classification was established by the Nice Agreement in the year 1957 and is recognized by the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO). It is a system agreed upon member states to help classifying goods and services for the purpose of registering trademarks.
Nice Classification is divided into 45 classes, where classes 1 to 34 relate to goods, while classes 35 to 45 relate to services. Each class has a general header that describes the type of products/services it includes
Each class has a distinctive set of goods and services, each class has a header where there is a general description of the goods or services provided and a detailed class description, where the trademark owner can choose distinctive products and services to register their mark on.
There are different versions of the NICE classification in which a new edition is published every five years and, since 2013, a new version of each edition is published annually. Some countries still use older versions of the Nice Classification. Also, some countries have amended the versions they use by removing items they prohibit from registration.
Jordan has officially adopted the Ninth Edition of the International Classification of Goods and Services since November 14, 2008.
- Paris convention – 1972
Jordan is a signatory to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property including trademarks, patents, utility patents, industrial designs, and geographical indications since July 17, 1972. One of the main practical advantages of this provision is claiming priority based on another trademark registration in another country within 6 months from date of registration. In other word, Jordanian applicants, and international applicants who are seeking protection in several countries are not required to present all of their applications at the same time as they have 6 months to decide in which country/countries they wish to seek protection, and to organize with due care the steps necessary for securing protection. Moreover, and under the provisions of this agreement, Jordan should grant the same protection to nationals of other contracting states that it grants to its own nationals. Also, the same rights should be granted for applicants of the non-contracting states if they are citizens and/ or have effective industrial or commercial establishment locally. On the other hand, each registration application in Jordan is independent of its possible registration in any other country, consequently, the lapse or cancelling of the registration of a mark in any other country will not affect the validity of the registration in Jordan.
- Vienna agreement – 1973
On August 14 2008, Jordan adopted the Vienna Agreement Establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks. The agreement entered into force, on November 14, 2008. Therefore, the trademark office in Jordan should indicate in all the official documents they issued relating any registration applications the class number, and sections of the Classification to which the figurative elements of those marks belong.
- TRIPS Agreement – 1994
TRIPS Agreement considered a one of WTO foundations. It succeeded to link the IP rights with trade. covers the protection of trademarks, patents, industrial designs, geographical indications and copyrights. The Agreement (TRIPS) is created based on existing multilateral systems by setting out general guidelines for the enforcement of IP rights. Jordan Joined TRIPS Agreement on 6-August 2008.
Jordan has been making in updating trademark laws, increasing capacity building for proper application of the law and as importantly implementation of international treaties. We are expecting to see so many more updates, especially that the government is working very hard to update their IP Laws to the point where an investor feels confident to invest in Jordan.
Yara Bou Maroun
Legal Expert with a Master’s degree from the Lebanese university and a DEA degree from la Sagesse University. She is a specialist in International business law with an emphasis on Intellectual property law.
Nour Hammoud
IP expert Holds Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from the Lebanese International University. She’s a Professional membership at International Trademark Association (INTA) and INTA Anti-counterfeiting Committee.
