The Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) issued the Unified Patent Law in December 1992, followed by the implementing regulations in 1996.
The GCC Patent Office was opened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and began accepting filing of applications as of October 3rd, 1998. In November 1999, the GCC Council proposed further amendments to the Law. The Amended Law became effective as of August 16th, 2000.
The protection of a GCC patent extends to members of the GCC Countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE. However, if the applicant filed a national application, protection will be restricted to that country.
Despite the fact that some countries like (Kuwait, Qatar & Oman) have no existing Patent Law or Implementing Regulations, the protection of GCC patent extends to all member states of the GCC Patent Office.
The substantive examination process of the GCC Patent Office is usually more rapid than any national patent office. The GCC patent applications filed in the years 1999 and 2000 are now under examination.
Furthermore, a GCC patent application can be filed with the English and Arabic Texts. Other supporting documents can be submitted within 3 months as from the date of filing the application.