A new Law of trademarks, business names and data, geographical indications and industrial models and designs was issued in Qatar on June 15, 2002.
The Law (No. 9), which is comprised of 57 Articles, states that foreigners shall have the same rights as the Qatari citizens provided that they are citizens or residents in countries in which Qatari Citizens and residents are treated reciprocally.
This Law repeals Law No.3 of the year 1978. The implementing regulations of the new Law are expected to be issued within two months from the above issuance date.
Trademarks
Article 6 of this Law defines a registerable mark as a mark assuming a distinctive form, whether it is a name, signature, word, letter, number, drawing, picture, symbol, impression, seal, inscription or any other sign, color or smell used in distinguishing a certain product, whether it is industrial, vocational, agricultural or related to exploitation of forestland, land extractions or sellable goods or services.
However, not all signs are registerable as trademarks. Any sign that is void of a distinctive feature or that which is merely a description of the characteristics of the goods or services or consisting of indications that are no more than common names shall not be registerable.
Also, immoral expressions, signs or indications, public symbols and names, official hallmarks, symbols identical with or similar to the Red Crescent or Red Cross, or the others’ image, name or logo shall be rejected as trademarks.
Also non registerable: data on honorary degrees if the applicant is not entitled to the same, signs that are confusingly identical with or similar to other signs registered or applied for by others, misleading signs or those that are inclusive of false data about the origin or characteristics of goods or services. Finally, marks that are identical with or similar to symbols of a religious nature cannot be registered.
The applicant shall be entitled to claim the right of priority on the ground of a prior application filed in another country provided that he/she encloses with the new application a declaration containing the date and number of the prior application and the country in which it had been filed, and that the country in which that former application is filed maintains the principle of reciprocity with Qatar. Granting priority is also conditional upon filing a notarized copy of the prior application within 6 months from the filing date of that application.
Accepted trademark applications shall be published in the official gazette. Any interested party may, within four months from the date of publication, oppose the registration of a published trademark.
A copy of the opposition notification shall be submitted to the applicant who can respond to the opposition in writing within two months; otherwise the application shall be cancelled.
Upon completion of the registration, the trademark proprietor shall be granted a certificate inclusive of the trademark’s serial number, date of application and date of registration, priority date (if priority is claimed), name of the country in which the prior application is filed, the business name or particulars of the proprietor, a reproduction of the mark and the particulars of the goods or services for which the mark is registered and the class of these goods or services.
A trademark protection shall be valid for ten years from the date of filing the application renewable for further consecutive periods of 10 years each. The renewal fees of a trademark registration shall be paid during the last year of the valid protection period. There shall be a grace period of six months within which a late renewal application can be filed provided that additional fees are paid.
A trademark shall be a subject of cancellation upon the request of any concerned party in case of an inexcusable nonuse of the mark in Qatar. The ownership of a registered trademark can be assigned with or without the enterprise that uses the trademark in distinguishing its goods or services.
The cancellation request can be either inclusive of all goods or services for which the mark is registered or limited to a certain part of those goods or services.
The cancellation request shall not be accepted before the expiration of a minimum of one month granted to the proprietor (by the cancellation petitioner) as a grace period for using the mark.
According to this Law collective marks shall be registerable upon an examination of the goods or services as to their source, composition, method of manufacture, quality, or any other common feature.
Business Data
The Law defines business data as any illustration related to:
1- number, amount, measure, weight or capacity of goods;
2- area or country in which the goods are manufactured or produced;
3- method of manufacture or production;
4- components;
5- particulars of the manufacturer or producer; and
6- the existence of other patents, IP rights or any other privileges or awards.
The business data shall by all means be reflective of reality.
Business Names, Geographical Indications, and Designs and Industrial Models
The Law provides protection for business names, geographical indications, and designs and industrial models.
A business name is protected by the new Law even if it is not registered. An assignment of a business name is not possible without an assignment of the enterprise. However, the personal name of the trader, or the name of his/her predecessor shall not be used for business purposes if such use is to mislead the public.
The proprietor of a business name shall be entitled to forbid others to use his/her business name or any similar sign that can mislead the public or arouse confusion about the goods or services related to that business name.
The trademark provisions in this Law shall apply to business names, with the special nature of the latter taken into consideration.
Geographical indications are also protected by the Law even if not registered in Qatar. Any concerned natural person or corporate body shall be entitled to request the registration of a geographical indication for the purpose of protecting a certain commodity.
However, the acceptance of such a registration shall not entitle the applicant to any exclusive right; any party practicing in the same geographical origin shall be entitled to use the same geographical indication.
The trademark provisions in this Law shall apply to geographical indications, with the special nature of the latter taken into consideration.
Finally, this Law affords any natural person or corporate body the right to register any inventive design or industrial model, and the proprietor of the design or industrial model the right to prevent others from using, counterfeiting or faking the same.
A design or industrial model shall be protected for five years extendable for two periods of five years each.
The trademark provisions in this Law shall apply to designs and industrial models, with the special nature of the latter taken into consideration.