The Registrar of Patents at the Ministry of Industry and Trade has declared that patents will be renewed for free until issuance of the new patent regulations for the new law. The new patent law No. 32 for 1999 (which was issued in November 1999) became effective December 1, 1999 but due to the absence of regulations and official fees, the Registrar has had to renew and accept applications for registered patents free of charge for the time being. Once the list of official fees has been issued, the owners and agents will be advised of the charges to be paid.
Under the previous law, patents were to be renewed on a three-period basis, the length of each was (4) years. The new law stipulates that the renewal should be made on an annual basis and for 20 years.