Requirements

Kuwait Patents Process

Patent Registration: 

  • Kuwait is just a filing system for now, where you only file the application, no examination, publication, or granting of patents is being completed yet. However the Law outlines the examination, publication, and granting pf patents as below:
  • The application will be formally examined to check if all the required documents were submitted and will issue a decision of:
    • Incomplete formalities: the Examiner will give the applicant 90 days from the official notification date to fulfill all requirements, otherwise the application will be considered withdrawn.
    • Complete formalities: the Examiner will give the applicant 90 days from the official notification date to settle the substantive examination fees, otherwise the application will be lapse.
  • Once the application is substantively examined, the Examiner will issue a decision of:
    • Reject the application: if the requirements were not met or the patent is non-registrable. The decision will be published.
    • Accept the application: the applicant has to settle the publication and registration fees to publish the application in the official gazette within 90 days from the official notification date; otherwise the application will lapse
  • Any interested third party can oppose the said application within 90 days from the date of publication.
  • If the application passes the publication period successfully, the certificate of registration will be issued.
  • The protection period of a patent is 20 years, from the filing date of the PCT application, or the national patent application based on Paris Convention.

 

Patent Annuities: 

  • A patent is protected for 20 years from the filing date.
  • No annuities are being collected for now as well by the ministry. However, the law set up the below regulations for settling annuities:
    • Annuities should be settled at the beginning of each year starting from the second year of filing the national application according to Paris Convention until the termination of the patent protection duration.
    • A 3 months grace period is granted to settle the annuities without late penalty fees. However, an additional 3 months grace period is granted subject to late penalty fees if the applicant fails to settle the annuity within the first grace period.

Kuwait Trademarks Process

Trademark Registration: 

  • The registration process takes 6 months to be completed.
  • A separate application should be filed for each class.
  • The application will be examined by the TMO within a period of 1 month. After the end of the examination period, the TMO will issue a decision to either:
    • Accept the application, the publication fees should be settled within 30 days from the official notification date, otherwise the application will be considered withdrawn.
    • Reject the application, you may appeal the decision within a period of 60 days from the official notification date, otherwise the application would be considered withdrawn.
  • Any interested third party can oppose the publication of the trademark application within 60 days from the date of publication. The applicant has 30 days from the official notification date to file a reply to the opposition, otherwise the application will be considered withdrawn.
  • The applicant has 30 days from the end of publication period date to settle the registration fees, otherwise the application will be considered withdrawn.
  • The certificate of registration will be issued within 1 week from the date of settlement of registration fees.
  • The trademark's registration is valid for 10 Gregorian years, starting from the filing date, and renewable for similar consecutive periods.

Trademark Renewal: 

  • The renewal process takes 1 month to be completed.
  • A separate application should be filed for each class.
  • The renewal application should be filed within the last year of the valid protection period.
  • A 6 months grace period after the expiry of the valid protection period is granted for filing late renewal, however it is subject to late penalty fees.
  • A change of agent should be filed and recorded prior to filing the renewal to ensure formality requirements are met.
  • The renewal will be recorded in the TMO database directly at time of filing of renewal and the certificate will be issued within 1 month.
  • The renewal certificate will be published in the official gazette for informative purposes only; No one can oppose the said publication.
  • The trademark renewal is valid for another 10 consecutive Gregorian years starting from the expiry of the previous protection period.

Trademark Change of Name and/or Address: 

  • The recordal of change process takes 1 month to be completed.
  • A separate application should be filed for each class.
  • A change of agent should be filed in order to ensure formality requirements are met.
  • The change certificate will be issued following filing the change application.
  • The change will be published in the official gazette for informative purposes only; No one can oppose the said publication.

Trademark Assignment: 

  • The assignment process takes 1 month to be completed.
  • A separate application should be filed for each class.
  • A change of agent should be filed in order to ensure formality requirements are met.
  • The assignment certificate will be issued following filing the assignment application.
  • The assignment will be published in the official gazette for informative purposes only; No one can oppose the said publication.

Lebanon Design Process

Design Registration: 

  • The registration process takes 1-2 months to be completed.
  • A single application could be filed for 1 to 100 designs as long as they are in the same class.
  • The application will be examined by the IDO within a period of 1 to 2 weeks. After the end of the examination period, the IDO will either:
    • Accept the application, the registration and publication fees should be settled to issue the certificate of registration.
    • Issue an office action, the applicant has to amend the application specifications as requested, otherwise the application will be considered withdrawn.
  • The IDO publishes the design certificate in the official gazette within 3 months from issuance of certificate for informative purposes only; No one can oppose the said publication.
  • The design's registration is valid for 25 Gregorian years, starting from the filing date, and renewable once for a similar period.

Design Renewal: 

  • The renewal process takes up to 1 month to be completed.
  • The renewal application should be filed within the last year of the valid protection period.
  • A 3 months grace period after the expiry of the valid protection period is granted for filing late renewal, subject to late penalty fees.
  • The application will undergo formality examination by the IDO which will issue a decision to either:
    • Accept the application, the certificate of renewal will be issued.
    • Conditionally accept the application, the applicant has to amend the application to comply with the IDO regulations; otherwise the application will be rejected.
  • The publication in the official gazette is for informative purposes only; No one can oppose the said publication.

Design Annuities:

  • NA – No Annuities.

Lebanon Patents Process

Patent Registration: 

  • The patent registration process takes up to 1 month.
  • Lebanon is a filing system in which patent applications do not undergo any substantive examination, only formally examined.
  • A certificate of registration will be issued within 2-3 weeks.
  • The patent will be published within three month after settling the required fees. However, the applicant has the right to seize publishing the patent for 6 months extendable up to three years.
  • The patent registration is valid for 20 years, from the date of filing.

 

Patent Annuities: 

  • A patent is protected for 20 years from the filing date.
  • Annuities should be settled prior to the anniversary of the filing date until the termination of the patent protection duration. For example: if the patent was filed on 30 January, then the annuity should be settled every year prior to 30 January.
  • A 3 months grace period is granted subject to late penalty fees if the applicant fails to settle the annuity within deadline.

Lebanon Trademarks Process

Trademark Registration: 

  • The registration process takes 1 month to be completed.
  • A single application could be filed for multiple classes; however additional official fees are applied for each additional class.
  • Official fees vary according to the number of words in the list of goods and type of mark whether colored or not.
  • The application will be examined by the TMO within a period of 1 to 2 weeks. After the end of the examination period, the TMO will either:
    • Accept the application, the registration and publication fees should be settled to issue the certificate of registration.
    • Reject the application, the applicant may file a letter of insistence on filing the trademark on his own risk, however the owner of the similar prior registered trademark may request cancelling the said mark later.
    • Issue an office action, the applicant has to amend the application specifications as requested, otherwise the application will be considered withdrawn.
  • The TMO publishes the trademark certificate in the official gazette within 3 months from issuance of certificate for informative purposes only; No one can oppose the said publication.
  • You may file a cancellation action against the infringed mark within 5 years from the date of registration of the trademark.
  • The trademark's registration is valid for 15 Gregorian years, starting from the filing date, and renewable for similar consecutive periods.

Trademark Renewal: 

  • The renewal process takes up to 1 month to be completed.
  • A single application could be filed for multiple classes.
  • The renewal application should be filed within the last year of the valid protection period.
  • A 3 months grace period after the expiry of the valid protection period is granted for filing late renewal, subject to late penalty fees.
  • The application will undergo formality examination by the TMO which will issue a decision to either:
    • Accept the application, the certificate of renewal will be issued.
    • Conditionally accept the application, the applicant has to amend the application to comply with the TMO regulations; otherwise the application will be rejected.
  • The publication in the official gazette is for informative purposes only; No one can oppose the said publication.
  • The trademark renewal is valid for another 15 Gregorian consecutive years starting from the expiry of the previous protection period.

Trademark Change of Name and/or Address: 

  • The recordal of change process takes 1 month to be completed.
  • A single application could be filed for multiple classes.
  • The application will undergo formality examination by the TMO which will issue a decision to either:
    • Accept the application, the certificate of change will be issued.
    • Conditionally accept the application, the applicant has to amend the application to comply with the TMO regulations; otherwise the application will be rejected.
  • The publication in the official gazette is for informative purposes only; No one can oppose the said publication.

Trademark Assignment: 

  • The recordal of the assignment takes 1 month to be completed.
  • A single application could be filed for multiple classes.
  • The application will undergo formality examination by the TMO which will issue a decision to either:
    • Accept the application, the certificate of assignment will be issued.
    • Conditionally accept the application, the applicant has to amend the application to comply with the TMO regulations; otherwise the application will be rejected.
  • The publication in the official gazette is for informative purposes only; No one can oppose the said publication.

Libya Design Process

One application can cover only one design.
The process from filing to issuance of certificate is for a period of 1 to 2 years. 
No annuities 
The design registration is valid for 5 years. 
Renewal is allowed twice for 5 years.

Libya Trademarks Process

Trademark Registration: 

  • The registration process takes 18-24 months to be completed.
  • A separate application should be filed for each class.
  • The application will be examined by the TMO within a period of 4-6 months. After the end of the examination period, the TMO will issue a decision to either:
    • Accept the application, the publication fees should be settled to publish the mark in the official gazette. 
    • Conditionally accept the application, you may appeal the decision within a period of 30 days from the official notification date or comply with the said conditions within 6 months from the official notification date, otherwise the application would be considered withdrawn.
    • Reject the application, you may appeal the decision within a period of 30 days from the official notification date, otherwise the application would be considered withdrawn.
  • It is worth mentioning that the TMO has not issued any official gazette since the year 2015, thus the publication for all accepted marks then are still pending.
  • Any interested third party can oppose the publication of the trademark application within 90 days from the date of publication in the official gazette. The applicant has 90 days from date of official notification to file a reply to the opposition, otherwise the application will be considered withdrawn.
  • It is worth mentioning that the TMO is not issuing any registration certificate at the time being.
  • The trademark's registration is valid for 10 Gregorian years, starting from the filing date, and renewable for similar consecutive periods.

Trademark Renewal: 

  • A separate application should be filed for each class.
  • The renewal application should be filed within the last year of the valid protection period.
  • A 3 months grace period after the expiry of the valid protection period is granted for filing late renewal, however it is subject to late penalty fees.
  • It is worth mentioning that if the filed mark (not registered yet) was due for renewal prior to issuance of the registration certificate, the TMO is requesting that the applicant settles the registration and renewal fees at time of filing of the renewal application, and will issue a renewal certificate directly without issuing a registration certificate.
  • There is no publication for renewals.
  • The trademark renewal is valid for another 10 Gregorian consecutive years starting from the expiry of the previous protection period.

Trademark Change of Name and/or Address: 

  • A single application can be filed for several marks owned by the same applicant, however fees differ according to number of marks.
  • A change of agent should be filed in order to ensure formality requirements are met.
  • There is no publication for change of name and/or address.
  • There is no official decision/certificate issued for confirmation of recordal of change of name and/or address at the time being.

Trademark Assignment: 

  • A single application can be filed for several marks owned by the same applicant, however fees differ according to number of marks and when the assignment deed was signed.
  • A change of agent should be filed in order to ensure formality requirements are met. 
  • There is no publication for assignments.
  • There is no official decision/certificate issued for confirmation of recordal of assignment at the time being.

Morocco Design Process

One application can cover up to 50 designs.
The process from filing to issuance of certificate is for a period of 1 to 2 years. 
No annuities 
The design registration is valid for 5 years. 
Renewal is allowed twice for 5 years.

Morocco Patents Process

Patent Registration: 

  • The patent registration process takes 2-3 years.
  • After filing the application, the application is put on hold for 2 months until all required documents and information are fulfilled.
  • After 18 month from the filing the application will be subject for substantive examination, the examination fees can be paid at the time of filing or at any time within the 18 months form the filing.
  • Once the application is technically and legally examined, the Examiner will issue his decision to either:
    • Complete or amend the application: the applicant has 90 days from the official notification date to reply to proceed with the examination of application.
    • Reject the application: if the requirements were not met or the patent is non-registrable. The applicant has 15 days from the official notification date to appeal the decision before the Appeal Committee.
    • Accept the application: the applicant has to settle the publication fees to publish the application in the official gazette. The patent office will notify the applicant when the said application will be published.
  • Any interested third party can oppose the said application within 60 days from the date of publication. The Patent Office will study the opposition and issue its decision within 30 days from filing date of opposition; otherwise the opposition will be considered rejected implicitly.
  • Once the application passes the publication period successfully, the registration fees should be settled to issue the related certificate of registration.
  • The protection period of a patent is 20 years, from the filing date of the PCT application, or the national patent application based on Paris Convention.

 

Patent Annuities: 

  • A patent is protected for 20 years from the filing date.
  • Annuities should be settled prior to the anniversary of the filing date of a national application or a PCT international application until the termination of the patent protection duration. For example: if the patent was filed on 30 January, then the annuity should be settled every year prior to 30 January.
  • The applicant should settle the annuity starting from the second year of filing the national application according to Paris Convention.
  • The applicant should settle all due annuities starting from the second year of filing the PCT application until the date of filing the application in the national phase in Morocco upon filing the application.  
  • 6 Month grace period is provided for with the payment of penalty fees.

 

European Patent's Validation:

  • The system for validating European patents in Morocco introduced under the validation agreement between the European Patent Organization and the government of the Kingdom of Morocco came into force on 1 March 2015.
  • The validation system provides European patent applicants with a simple and cost-effective way of obtaining patent protection in Morocco.
  • Upon the applicant's request, and on payment of the prescribed fee, European applications and patents can be validated in Morocco, where they will have the same effects as national applications and patents.
  •  The validation procedure is not based on direct application of the EPC, but is governed solely by national law.
  • Validation is at the applicant's request. A request is deemed to be made for any European patent application filed on or after 1 March 2015. thus, Validation is not available for applications filed prior to that date, or for any European patents resulting from such applications.
  • The Validation request must be applied within 3 months from the date of publication of the grant in the European Patent Bulletin.
  • An extension of time for 2 months can be filed to extend the validation deadline, however is subject to additional fees.
  • The European Patent Application can be filed electronically or in hardcopy form before the PTO, and in turn the PTO issues an official filing receipt for the validation application and assigns the application with a national filing number.
  • A title of Patent will be issued after a few months.
  • Annuities should be settled after the grant of patent.

Morocco Trademarks Process

Trademark Registration: 

  • The registration process takes 3-4 months to be completed.
  • A single application could be filed for multiple classes.
  • The application will be examined by the TMO within a period of 1 to 3 months. After the end of the examination period, the TMO will issue a decision to either:
    • Accept the application, the publication fees should be settled and the mark will be issued in the official gazette.
    • Conditionally accept the application, the TMO gives the applicant 60 days from the official notification date to comply or amend the application as requested, otherwise the application will be rejected.
  • Any interested third party can oppose the publication of the trademark application within 60 days from the date of publication in the official gazette. The applicant has 60 days from date of official notification to file a reply to the opposition, otherwise the application will be considered withdrawn.
  • The certificate of registration will be issued within 1 month from the date of settlement of registration fees.
  • The TMO publishes the trademark certificate in the official gazette for informative purposes only; No one can oppose the said publication.
  • The trademark's registration is valid for 10 Gregorian years, starting from the filing date, and renewable for similar consecutive periods.

Trademark Renewal: 

  • The renewal process takes up to 6 months to be completed.
  • A single application could be filed for multiple classes.
  • The renewal application should be filed within the last 6 months of the valid protection period.
  • A 6 months grace period after the expiry of the valid protection period is granted for filing late renewal.
  • The application will undergo formality examination by the TMO which will issue a decision to either:
    • Accept the application, the publication fees should be settled and the mark will be published in the official gazette.
    • Conditionally accept the application, the TMO gives the applicant 60 days from the official notification date to amend the application as requested, otherwise the application will be rejected.
  • The publication in the official gazette is for informative purposes only; No one can oppose the said publication.
  • The renewal certificate will be issued within 1-2 months from the date of publication.
  • The trademark renewal is valid for another 10 Gregorian consecutive years starting from the expiry of the previous protection period.

Trademark Change of Name and/or Address: 

  • The recordal of change process takes up to 6 months to be completed.
  • A separate application should be filed for each trademark.
  • A change of agent should be filed and published in the official gazette in order to ensure formality requirements are met.
  • The application will undergo formality examination by the TMO which will issue a decision to either:
    • Accept the application, the publication fees should be settled and the mark will be published in the official gazette.
    • Conditionally accept the application, the TMO gives the applicant 60 days from the official notification date to amend the application as requested, otherwise the application will be rejected.
  • The publication in the official gazette is for informative purposes only; No one can oppose the said publication.
  • The change certificate will be issued within 1-2 months from the date of publication.

Trademark Assignment: 

  • The recordal of the assignment takes up to 6 months to be completed.
  • A separate application should be filed for each trademark. 
  • A change of agent should be filed and published in the official gazette in order to ensure formality requirements are met. 
  • The application will undergo formality examination by the TMO which will issue a decision to either:
    • Accept the application, the publication fees should be settled and the mark will be published in the official gazette.
    • Conditionally accept the application, the TMO gives the applicant 60 days from the official notification date to amend the application as requested, otherwise the application will be rejected.
  • The publication in the official gazette is for informative purposes only; No one can oppose the said publication.
  • The assignment certificate will be issued within 1-2 months from the date of publication.

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