Trademark Registration in GCC
The Gulf Cooperation Council, commonly referred to as the GCC, is an organization formed by the countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Secure your brand identity and intellectual property in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region with our professional Trademark Registration services. Our expert team at Alraqeem specializes in guiding businesses through the trademark registration process, ensuring legal compliance and protection for your valuable assets.
Trademark Registration in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries
Determine the probabilities your trademark has of being successfully registered in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Searches for a trademark’s figurative elements (logo) are not available. The search will only be for the trademark’s verbal elements.
Why and how to register a trademark in the Gulf countries?
The GCC is taking important steps in improving provisions in the trademark laws of each of its member countries to allow trademark matters to be handled more efficiently and uniformly in all countries that compose the GCC.
For information regarding trademarks and services for any of the individual member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, please visit our individual country pages:
Unlike other regional agreements that allow for a single trademark application and subsequent registration to grant protection in all member states, in the case of the GCC, in order for a trademark to be protected in all member states, it will have to be filed and registered in all six member countries directly. The GCC currently does not contemplate an individual trademark for all member countries, nor are there any plans to do so in the future. What the GCC is currently setting out to achieve is for the trademark laws and processes of all countries that belong to the organization to be similar.
Therefore, although great steps have been taken to harmonize trademark matters in these countries, currently and in the future, trademark holders will have to apply for their trademarks directly in each member country of the GCC in which they want their trademarks protected. As a trademark owner, you may choose to register your trademark in one or more countries of the GCC. When filing a trademark in any of the GCC member states, you are not obligated to register your trademark in the other GCC member countries.
To date the following member states have taken the below actions:
- Saudi Arabia – Decree No. M/51 dated 26 April 2014 approved the Saudi Council of Minister’s decision No. 306 of the same date and the Trademark Law is to be published within 30 days from the date of issuance of the Implementing regulation and will come into force after 90 days of its publication in the Official Gazette.
- Qatar – Decree No. 7 of 2014 approved the Trademark Law which was published on June 30, 2014.
- Bahrain – Decision No. 6 of 2014 approved the Trademark Law which was published in the Official Gazette No. 3145 dated February 27, 2014.
- Kuwait – Law No. 13 of 2015 was issued and published in Official Gazette No. 1228 dated March 22, 2015
- Oman / UAE – At present, neither country has published any legislation with regard to the Trademark Law. It, therefore, remains to be seen how or when the Trademark Law will be implemented in each of these member states.
Time & Professional Fee for Trademark Registration in GCC
Country | Duration of time | Power of Attorney |
2 to 4 months | Notarize | |
6 to 8 months | Notarize | |
6 to 8 months | Notarize | |
4 to 7 months | Legalize | |
6 to 9 months | Notarize | |
6 to 9 months | Notarize |
Documents required for Trademark Registration in GCC
- Notarized Power of Attorney (POA).
- Passport Copy of the Managing Director
- A copy Business/Company License
- Logo in high resolution
- Class Number (List of goods/services)
Process Of Trademark Registration in GCC Countires
FAQs
The definition of what constitutes a trademark will include sound marks, smell marks, and single colors.
Certified translations and transliterations of trademarks that are not in Arabic will have to be presented at the moment of filing.
Multiclass application is not possible in the GCC. If a trademark is to be registered in more than one class, independent applications for each class have to be filed.
Priority may be claimed when filing a trademark based on a previous foreign application.
Considerations as to whether identical or similar trademarks exist will not be limited to the class under which a trademark is filed. Confusing similarity also takes into account trademarks filed or registered for similar goods or services even if they fall in different classes.
Protection of well-known trademarks is to improve in regards to what constitutes a well-known trademark. Well-known trademarks in GCC countries will not have to be registered in order to be granted protection. The translation of a well-known trademark will now also have protection.
Finally, once registered, if a trademark is not used for a period of 5 years in the member country of the GCC in which it is registered, third parties will be able to present cancellation actions against the registered trademark.
Trademark registrations are valid for 10 years from the filing date and are renewable for like periods.
Book Free Consultation
Related Search Services
trademark registration in gcc | gulf countries trademark registration |gulf countries tm | gcc trademark registration | gcc trade mark law | gcc trademark law implementing regulations | Trademark Registration in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries | Trademark Search in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries | Trademark Application in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries | gcc trademark registration process | gcc trademark law | gcc trademark cost | gcc trademark duration | gcc trademark validity
