Trademark Registration in Oman
Trademark Registration in Oman: Business profitability is highly dependent on its brand. As a result, brands that gain fame and profitability among consumers create competition in the market. The fame of a brand opens the door to third parties in creating a similar brand; thereby potentially resulting in an infringement. Such a controversial and political issue gave rise to the complexity and importance of trademark registrations. Trademark registrations are a way of protecting an owner’s legal rights in the goods and services a company holds. It also allows the trademark owner to sue for any infringement of any unauthorized use of their brand. The Omani trademark office is keen on inviting foreign investors and citizens who wish to do business in Oman to register their trademarks.
Since the Omani market has begun to recognize innovation, this article will demonstrate how trademarks are generally registered (theoretically and practically) in Oman and how products could be recalled if the labeling and trademark of the products are not consistent with the service of the product.
Trademark Registration in Oman
Trademark Registration in Oman: Business profitability is highly dependent on its brand. As a result, brands that gain fame and profitability among consumers create competition in the market. The fame of a brand opens the door to third parties in creating a similar brand; thereby potentially resulting in an infringement. Such a controversial and political issue gave rise to the complexity and importance of trademark registrations. Trademark registrations are a way of protecting an owner’s legal rights in the goods and services a company holds. It also allows the trademark owner to sue for any infringement of any unauthorized use of their brand. The Omani trademark office is keen on inviting foreign investors and citizens who wish to do business in Oman to register their trademarks.
Since the Omani market has begun to recognize innovation, this article will demonstrate how trademarks are generally registered (theoretically and practically) in Oman and how products could be recalled if the labeling and trademark of the products are not consistent with the service of the product.
About Trademark Registration in Oman
What is a Trademark?
A trademark is typically a brand name that is used in business as an identification sign to distinguish the goods or services from other companies. A trademark could be a name, words signatures letters figures, pictures, signatures, colors, words, slogans, software, application, website, shape, or combinations of any of these.
What is a trademark class system?
Trademarks are registered under a ‘class’ system in Oman. Each trademark class covers different products and services. There are 45 international classes and it is possible to register trademarks in 44 classes in Oman. A separate application is required for the registration of a trademark in each class. It may be costly and unnecessary for you to register your trademark in classes that are not relevant to your goods or services. Thus, choosing the correct class is critical for necessary protection and avoiding unnecessary costs. Al Raqeem takes this responsibility when filing your application.
What are the benefits of trademark registration?
You will enjoy the following main benefits by registering your trademark:
- Protect your business identity
- Protect you against others using the same or similar marks
- protects you against confusion with others who trade in the same industry but have a bad reputation
- It’s a valuable asset: it can be licensed, franchised, or sold
Difference between a trademark and other IP
A trademark is only one form of intellectual property and is typically associated with logos and brand names. The other forms of intellectual property that can be protected by companies are:
- Patents: These are used for new technology, inventions, ideas, processes, and methods
- Copyrights: These are used for literary, artistic, dramatic works, musical works, or computer software
- Industrial Designs: These are used for shapes, patterns or ornamentation applied to industrially produced objects
The duration of a trademark or service mark registration is for 10 years from the filing date renewable for similar periods of 10 years each. According to the provisions of the law, a grace period of 6 months is allowed for filing a renewal application with a lateness fine. Renewal application(s) will be published in the Official Gazette.
The Two Methods of Trademark Registration in Oman
There are two ways of trademark registration in Oman: the National Trademark Registration in Oman and the registration of Trademarks as per the Madrid Protocol (World Wide Trademark Registration). The National Trademark Registration is relevant if the brand owners need to register the trademark in Oman only. The applicants who own one or more trademarks in the countries under the Madrid Union can apply for trademark registration in Oman under the Madrid System by filing a single application. Omani nationals and Omani companies can also apply for worldwide Trademark registration.
a) Filing of Application
For registering a trademark in Oman an application should be filed at the Department of Intellectual Property (IP Department) at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The brand owners need to submit the application to the IP Department through trademark agents in Oman. The application should contain a description of the trademark and it should be distinctive from other trademarks in aspects like shape, color, etc.
b) Trademark Examination
After the brand owner submits the application for trademark registration in Oman, the IP department will examine the mark on absolute and relative grounds. The trademark will be examined for its distinctiveness and also for violation of public morals. After the examination, the IP Department will deliver its decision to allow the trademark for publication or rejection or for making amendments to the application.
c) Trademark Publication & Opposition
If the IP Department accepts the trademark application, then the applicant can file the trademark application in the Official Gazette as well as a local Daily Newspaper. There is a trademark opposition period of 120 days which begins from the date of publication. During this period any interested third party can raise their objection to the trademark application. The third-party can raise objections citing conflicts of interest or potential similarity with other trademarks that are already registered. However, the third parties should register their objection within the 120-day period and any extension of the opposition period is not allowed.
Under Omani trademark law, the protection conferred by the registration of a trademark is for a period of 10 years from the date of filing the registration application. The trademark owner shall have the right to renew the registration of a registered mark within the six months following the expiration of the registration. If the period of six months lapses and the owner of the mark has not applied for renewal thereof, the trademark office shall strike off the mark from the register. However, in practice, the trademark office gives applicants more than six months to renew their trademark without striking it off the register. For example, if a trademark expired in 2015, the trademark office will allow the applicant to file for renewal and the protection of the trademark will continue until 2025.
Documents Required for Trademark Registration in Oman
If you are ready to register your trademark in United Arab Emirates, Al Raqeem Intellectual Property has a complete list of documents that you need to prepare. An on-time preparation of these documents will make the process smooth and easy.
The information and documents required for filing the application are:
- A Notarized Power of Attorney in favor of Al Raqeem Intellectual Property. ( If from foreign company, it must be legalized upto UAE Consulate ).
- Emirates ID / Passport Copy of the Managing Director.
- A copy of Company trade license.
- A good representation of the Mark / trademark logo PDF or JPG format.
- List of goods / services to identify from which classifications it belongs.
Importance of Registering Your Trademark
It is also very important to have your trademark registered in other countries as it will be easier to challenge other potential infringing trademarks. It should be noted that the Omani trademark law provides leeway for established trademarks. For example, if a recognized trademark is not registered in Oman and a competitor wishes to register a similar trademark to that well-known trademark, under Omani trademark law, the applicant of that well-established trademark is within its rights to challenge the proposed registration under conditions, as set out below:
- submits evidence that he or she has used that mark in good faith for at least six months prior to the filing date or the priority date, if applicable;
- submits evidence that he or she has acquired clientele and that clientele attributes some reputation to the mark; and
- he or she files an application for registration of his or her own mark prior to sending the registry the notice to the opposition.
Moreover, it is important to have your trademark registered to protect your business from unfair competition and in order to easily raise cases at the competent authority if your trademark is infringed by other parties. Further, since we are living in a generation of innovation, the marketplace is flooded with products and it is hard to distinguish a person’s product from their competitors’. Therefore, trademarks are an efficient commercial communication to capture customers’ attention.
FAQs
Approx. 7 to 15 working days.
Yes, 11th Nice Classification.
No; marks can be registered in Oman for all goods and services under classes 1 to 45 of the Nice Classification without any exclusion.
As per the new regulation implemented by the Omani trademark office in association with the Madrid protocol; the list of goods or/ and services of all applications should be detailed and specific. It is not possible to file the trademark application with an entire class heading or with all goods/services.
The required documents should be submitted within 3 months from the filing date of the application.
No. Separate applications should be filed for each class of goods/services.
The term of protection of a trademark is ten years from the date of filing the application.
As per the Trademark Law, if a trademark registration is not renewed by the owner, the same mark will be allotted to another party only after a gap of three years.
No documents are required for amending the trademark until its registration.
A trademark application can be opposed within 60 days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
Sell or offer for sale, or should be dealt with in some manner in Oman.
Recording a license agreement is not compulsory, but highly recommended, as otherwise, it will not have any legal effect vis-à-vis third parties.
It is possible to record an assignment with or without goodwill. A nominal amount (of say US$ 1.00) can be mentioned as the consideration. There is no tax based on the value mentioned.
