Bahrain Now Accepts Patent Annuities

MANAMA – The Directorate of Industrial Property (DIP) at the Bahraini Ministry of Industry and Commerce announced that it will start accepting annuities of patents that have been previously registered in the official records therein and that are still valid.

As per a communiqué issued on December 3, 2008 by Head of the National Patents Office at the Directorate Lina Zenel, annuities will be counted from the date of issuing the relevant bylaw regulations.

The communiqué refers to provision No. 14/2006 for the amendment of some rules of Law 1/2004 pertaining to Patents and Utility Models issued on May 28, 2006; it also complies with decision No. 54/2006 for bylaw regulations of Law 1/2004 pertaining to Patents and Utility Models, which had been published in the Official Gazette, issue No. (2738), dated May 10, 2006.

The communiqué, directed to all industrial property registration agents in Bahrain, provided that the annuities of the past protection period is subtracted from the protection period stipulated in the Law, which is 20 years; whereas, annuities will be imposed only on the remained protection period, pursuant to clause No. 42 of the abovementioned Law.