| Country | Updates
|
| West Bank | New changes in trademark practices where a trademark application could be filed along with a scanned simply signed Power of Attorney; however, the simply signed Power of Attorney should be notarized, legalized up to the concerned Palestinian Consulate and submitted at the Trademarks Office within one month as from the filing date. |
| KSA | •A new body for IP protection has been established under the name “Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP)” to regulate, promote and protect Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in the Kingdom. Trademark enforcement jurisdiction was transferred to this new body. •A sound trademark has been registered in the Kingdom, entering a new IP era in which non-traditional trademarks are granted protection. •The Saudi Arabia Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) approved the registration of family name as trademark in the Kingdom. •Registration of collective marks containing geographical indications became possible in the Kingdom. •The 11th Edition of Nice Classification has officially been adopted in the Kingdom.
|
| Egypt | Egypt joined TMclass with goods and services inArabic. |
| Pakistan | Pakistan has formally joined the Madrid System for international trademark registrations on May 24, 2021 |
| Yemen | All trademark applications that were opposed before 2015 were considered as abandoned, due to the complexity of issuing their opposition decisions, since many files were misplaced during the civil unrest situation in Yemen back in 2011 and afterwards, and the relocation of the Ministry building. |
| Libya | •The Trademark Office resumed the issuance of the Official Gazette after the interruption of trademarks publication since 2015. The Office issued the Official Gazette number one (1) for the year 2020, starting from the application number 20466. •A new Ministerial Decision was issued preventing the renewal of trademark applications submitted after a missed deadline
|
| Algeria | The use of class headings as the list of goods in trademark applications became no longer accepted in Algeria. Trademark applications with class heading are not accepted because each claimed list of goods and/or services should be specified in details to avoid any possible rejection during the examination phase. |
| Oman | An electronic platform for the filing of trademark applications has been introduced starting from March 7, 2021. |
| Sudan | Electronic POA for trademark registration became accepted. |
| Erbil | New directives for trademark registration extension have been introduced, suspending the legal extension of registered Iraqi trademarks to Kurdistan region until further notice. Trademark registration should be sought directly with the Kurdistan Trademark Office. |
| UAE | •The period of filing the Power of Attorney for new trademark applications has been extended to 30 days from the date of filing. The new grace period applies only on new trademark applications. Hence, the Power of Attorney for oppositions and appeals must be filed with the application. •Issuance of the Official Trademark Gazette became once every two weeks (twice a month) as from June 15, 2021. •UAE joined the Madrid System on December 28, 2021.
|
| Russia | •The automation of the entire process of generation and issuance of trademark registration certificates for all applications filed after January 17, 2021. |
|
| Somalia | After a suspension period of almost three decades, trademark registration became possible in Somalia, where the examination and publication of trademark applications became compulsory. |
|