List of Countries

Introduction

Qatar is member of WIPO Convention since September 3, 1976 and is signatory to the Paris Convention as of July 5, 2000 and the Berne Convention (Literary and Artistic Works) as of July 5, 2000. Qatar is a member of the GCC Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Patent Regulations of GCC have been approved in 1992 by the Supreme Council of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. Qatar is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and is a signatory of Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Right (TRIPS) as of January 1996.

Intellectual property legislation includes Law No. 9 of 2002 on Trademarks, Geographical Indications and Industrial Design Law, and law No. 7 of 2002 on Protection of Copyright and Related Rights.

Intellectual Property matters are administered by the Industrial Property Office which is under the supervision of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce.

Affiliations

Bodies: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), World Trade Organization (WTO), Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Conventions: Paris Convention, Berne Convention, Nairobi Treaty, WIPO Copyright Treaty, WIPO Performances & Phonograms Treaty, GCC Patent Law, Patent Cooperation Treaty.

Country Information

 Capital: Doha
 Location: Middle East, peninsula bordering the Arabian Gulf and Saudi Arabia.
 Languages: Arabic (official); English widely understood.
 Government :Unitary constitutional monarchy
 Currency: Qatari Riyal – (Rate 1 U.S. $= 3.64 as on January 2018)

MORE ABOUT TRADEMARKS IN QATAR

LAWS

Qatar Trademark Law      Download

Qatar Trademarks office is administered by Ministry of Economy and Commerce, Department of Commercial Registration and Licensing.

FOLLOWING INDICATIONS MAY BE USED AS TRADEMARKS IN QATAR:

    • Invented Words
    • Names & Trade Names.
    • 3D Marks
    • Combinations of colours, single non-functional coulours
    • Sound and smell marks
    • Numbers
    • Designs
    • Wignettes
    • Combination of colours, single non-functional colours
    • Distinctive representations
    • Numerals
    • Signatures
    • Letters
    • Symbols, Stamps, Seals
    • Pictures
    • Photographs
    • Designs
    • Combination of all of the above

CLASSIFICATION

11th edition – single class application. Class 33, alcoholic goods in class 32, and pork meat in class 29 cannot be registered.

TRADEMARK SUMMARY

    • Multi-class filing system not applied
    • For claiming colour, it should be depicted according to the Heraldic Code
    • Official Gazette of trademarks is published monthly
    • Opposition period is 120 days from the date of publication
    • The assignment of a trademark or service mark can be recorded once the mark is registered in the country.
    • The registrant of a trademark or service mark is also obliged to record any change in his name and/or address with the Trademark Registry.

PROTECTION TERM

    • A10 years from filing date and renewable for like periods
    • Trademark could be renewed anytime during the last 12 months of the protection period
    • A grace period of 6 months from the date of expiry is allowed, but with the penalty

RIGHTS OF TRADEMARK OWNERS

Trademarks may be:

    • Transferred in whole or in part
    • Inherited
    • Assigned and licensed.
    • Mortgaged and creditors may seize such trademarks belonging to their debtors.
    • Licensed to natural or legal persons
    • Prevented from unauthorized usage by third parties
    • The subject of appropriate redressal from a court of law upon infringement

TRADEMARK USAGE IN QATAR

It is not compulsory to use the mark for filing applications or maintaining the registration in force. Continuous usage of the mark for 5 years post registration is necessary to avoid 3rd party claims on the mark

Unauthorized use of a trademark registered under the law or an imitation of such trademark applied on goods and services of the same class, or sale, storing for the purpose of sale, or exhibiting for sale of goods and services bearing a counterfeited mark, or using a mark duly registered under the law by another person to serve the purpose of unauthorized promotion of goods or services of the same class are offenses punishable under the law

REQUISITES FOR TRADEMARK’S SERVICES

Trademark / Service Mark Applications

    • A power of attorney duly legalized from the Qatari Consulate or any other Arab consulate and stamped with the company’s seal;
    • A simple copy of the certificate of incorporation of the applicant company or an extract of the entry of the applicant in the commercial register;
    • The list of the goods to be covered. The protection of the class cannot include all goods and services; one item must always be excluded
    • The name, address, nationality and legal status of the applicant including the nature of its business
    • A certified copy of the priority document, if claimed

Renewal of Trademark / Service Mark Registrations

    • A power of attorney legalized from the Qatari Consulate or any other Arab consulate and stamped with the company’s seal;
    • The name, address and nationality of the applicant and the nature of its business
    • The trademark’s filing number
    • The trademark’s filing number. Scanned copy of the original registration certificate (just for verification purpose)

Registered user/ licensee Agreement Application

    • An authenticated license agreement in writing signed by the concerned parties and legalized with the Consulate of Qatar or any Arab Consulate at the seeker’s end
    • A power attorney by the licensee duly legalized from the Qatar consulate
    • Legalized certificate of incorporation or extract from the commercial register of the registered user company

Change of Name and Address Application

    • A power of attorney in the new name and/ or address duly legalized from Qatar Embassy
    • A legal certificate duly attested, mentioning the changes to be done

Assignments Applications

    • A power of attorney legalized with the Qatari Embassy or any other Arab consulate by the assignee and stamped with the company’s stamp
    • A deed of assignment signed by both parties, authenticated, notarized and legalized with the Consulate of Qatar
  • A legalized copy of the certificate of incorporation or any equivalent document of the assignee company.

PATENT INTRODUCTION & REQUIREMENTS

LAWS

Qatar Patent Law      Download

PATENT SUMMARY

    • Conducting search availability is not existing at this time
    • Any patent application filed under GCC Patent Law is completely valid in Qatar
    • Applications will be published in the official gazette upon grant
    • Opposition period is 60 days from the date of announcement

PROTECTION TERM

    • 20 years from the international filing date

ANNUITIES

    • Due annually on the anniversary of the international filing date and payable prior to grant
    • Grace period of 6 months for late payment, but with the penalty

REQUIREMENTS

For Filing the Patent Application:

    • Legalized POA
    • Copy of International Publication (with ISR if published)

For Change of Name or Address:

    • Legalized POA, (If new name)
    • Extract from the commercial register or any other document evidencing this change duly legalized.

For Assignment:

    • Legalized POA
    • Deed of assignment duly legalized
    • But, at present it is possible only to submit a letter stating that the subject application has been assigned from the assignor to the assignee

For Merger

    • Legalized POA
  • But, at present it is possible only to submit a letter stating that the owner of the application has merged to form a new entity

COPYRIGHTS INTRODUCTION & REQUIREMENTS – QATAR

LAWS

Qatar Copyrights Law      Download

The provisions to provide legal protection to the copyright- related issues have been incorporated in Qatar in the shape of Qatari Copyright Law No. 25 of 1995 and the Law No. 7 of 2002. Qatar is a member of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

Copyright registration is possible for nationals and foreigners. The approximate time frame for completing the registration process is one week.

DURATION

In general, the duration is the artist’s life with the addition of 50 years following the artist’s date of passing.

The copyright law provides protection for original intellectual works of art in literature, science, arts and culture in general. The law provides protection irrespective of the value, type, manner of expression or purpose of the work. The author may assign the rights granted to him subject to prescribed terms and conditions.

COPYRIGHT IS PROTECTED FOR;

    • Written works,
    • Phonographs and
    • Cinematographic films,
    • Theater and musical pieces,
    • Television and radio works for publication,
    • Paintings
    • Sculpture and architecture,
    • Maps and speeches
    • Software & Computer programs

INFRINGEMENTS & PENALTIES

Infringements are presided over by the Copyright Tribunal. Penalties include payment of fines of up to 100,000 Riyals (around 27,500 US Dollars), as well as legal prosecution resulting in a maximum of 1-year imprisonment terms.

REQUIREMENTS FOR FILING

    • Legalized POA
    • Name of author(s)
    • Subject of the work
    • Copies of the work
    • Detailed specification of the work
    • Detailed specification of the work
    • Written declaration of the ownership of the work
  • Approval of the work by the competent department in the applicant’s country.

DOMAIN NAME INTRODUCTION

The Qatar Telecom (Q-Tel) is the local registry for the Top-Level Domain Name: (TLD) .qa in Qatar. The second- level domain names available under .qa are as follows:

    • .com.qa for commercial use
    • .gov.qa  for governmental entities
    • .edu.qa  for educational institutions
    • .net.qa  for Internet activities
    • .org.qa  for non-for-profit organizations

All registrations in this regard are done through the method of “first-come, first-serve” basis. Registration is for economic and commercial companies in Qatar. Foreign companies are allowed to register domain names through a local agent.