Algeria acceds to copyright treaties

News from November 2013 from WIPO that:

"The following notifications have just been published:

WIPO Copyright Treaty - Accession by the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
WCT Notification No. 80

WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty - Accession by the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
WPPT Notification No. 85"

This part of the Empty Quarter welcomes this news enthusiastically.

Morocco - Finance Law increases penalties for counterfeitintg

News from good friends H&H Consulting Law Firm of changes to enforcement in Morocco.  Moroccan Customs have set significant fines to be levied against importers of counterfeit products.  A new Finance Law came into force on 1 January 2014. That law states that importing counterfeit goods is a 'high level customs contravention'. The law deals with confiscation and destruction of counterfeit goods, compensation and fines. Fines can be up to three times the value of the tax due on the import.

This part of the Empty Quarter welcomes this news.  Strong legislation is key to protecting consumer. So much is, however, also down to implementation.

Libyan Trade Mark Office - Power of Attorney requirements

News that the Libyan Trade Mark Office changed its practice on Powers of Attorney towards the end of last year.  Powers of Attorney to local agents must be executed by the rights holder and not by another agent on behalf of the rights holder. Local agents have discussed the issue with the Registrar who insisted that the amendment to the practice is correct. The issue was then discussed with the Reviews Committee at the Trade Mark Office who agreed.

This part of the Empty Quarter does not agree. If an agent has the power to delegate powers on behalf of the rights holder then the Trade Mark Office should honour the wishes of the rights holder.

Arab-British Chamber of Commerce IP event in London

News of an event organised by The Arab-British Chamber of Commerce in December 2013 in London entitled the "International Intellectual Property Rights Conference: Combating Transnational Intellectual Property Crime". The event was billed as comprising high-level discussions, offering unparalleled networking opportunities, and providing a unique opportunity to learn about and discuss best practices that can be utilized to combat transnational organized intellectual property crime. The event was also expected to witness the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the Saudi-British Arbitration Centre to promote commercial arbitration as an effective alternative to litigation.

This part of the Empty Quarter was not able to attend the event but would welcome news from any reader who did.

Saudi Arabian Trade Mark Office dramatically increases publication fees without notice

News from good friends at Kadasa & Partners that the Trade Mark Office in Saudi Arabia has dramatically increased publication fees from SAR1,000 (about US$270) to SAR3,000 (about US$800) per page (for the first two pages). The increase came without warning.

This increase follows a number of changes to the practice at the Trade Mark Office over recent months (reported here, here and here).

This part of the Empty Quarter feels that US$800 for the publication of one page of data on the Ministry of Commerce and Industry website is expensive (being more than the total local government and agent fees for an application to registration in many countries) and such an increase along with any change which comes without notice can only be detrimental to rights holders, agents and consumers.  

UAE to amend Commercial Fraud Law

News that a proposed Commercial Fraud Law in the United Arab Emirates may soon be enacted.

There is a useful summary report in The National (here) from November 2013 and news on the Arabic only The Emirates Today (here) that the Financial and Economic Committee of the Federal National Council has announced that the draft law will be sent to the Federal Cabinet to consider.

This part of the Empty Quarter welcomes this news. The existing Law for the Prevention of Fraud and Deception in Commercial Dealings dates from 1979 since when much has changed in the world of commerce.

Tunisian Customs organise open house information fair to celebrate World Customs Day

News reaches this part of the Empty Quarter of a two day open house information fair being held by Tunisian Customs on 24 and 25 January 2014 to celebrate World Customs Day.  Participants will be customs users (professional organisations, businesses, private sector representatives, civil and consumer associations). There will be presentations on the modernisation of Tunisian Customs and workshops by rights holders on the risks of counterfeits and how to identify counterfeit products.

The workshops are being organised by the Bureau of International Cooperation at the Directorate General of Customs (bci@douane.gov.tn).

Syria moves to single class renewals

News from good friends SMAS that the Syrian Ministry of Interior Trade and Consumers Protection issued a Ministerial Decree (No. 2057) on 9 December 2013 stating that from 19 December 2013 a separate renewal application must be filed for any multi-class trade mark registration. Separate fees must be paid for the renewal of each class. Multi-class renewals will no longer be allowed.

The part of the Empty Quarter is disappointed by this change on two counts. The first is that a multi-class system should allow multi-class renewals. The second is the very short notice of the change. There seem to be changes taking place in the Trade Mark Office as it was only two months ago that there was an announcement of changes in renewal fees (here). Some stability in the Trade Mark Office (and the country itself) would be most welcome.

Changes to trade mark practice in Saudi Arabia

With thanks to good friends Kadasa & Partners news of further changes to the practice at the Trade Mark Office:

"Further to the recent changes to the Saudi trademark practice ensuing from the online filing application, we have been notified of the following new changes and developments:

1) Trademark Registration Certificates:

Registration certificates for electronically filed applications will be computer-generated. Traditional registration certificates have been prepared by trademark agents and submitted for signature, stamp and lodging a counterpart in the Trademark Office Records. As we have understood, traditional certificates will be processed for old pending applications filed before the online filing system.

2) Applicant Name and address

Arabic translation of non-Arab clients’ names, addresses and PoAs are no longer required. It has become possible to submit untranslated PoAs and register the name and address of the non-Arab applicants in English only on the online portal. The name and address in English characters will appear in the application form, the publication, and the registration certificate. It is noteworthy that the non-Arab applicants’ names and addresses will appear in English only in registration certificates corresponding to all applications, which have already been filed online when those applications were in Arabic translated names and addresses."

These continue a process of changes to administrative procedures at the Trade Mark Office (reported here and here).

This part of the Empty Quarter generally welcomes process improvements. The Saudi Trade Mark Office has significantly reduced the time taken to examine and approve new trade mark applications with some being examined and published within a week of filing, which is to be applauded. However, where this is accompanied by overly prescriptive requirements the benefits to rights holders and consumers can be reduced. There have been a number examples of amendments being required by the Trade Mark Office to trade mark applications after the end of the opposition period so that the applications comply with the subsequent specification requirements. These retrospective amendments to previously approved and published applications reduce certainty for rights holders and the general public. This part of the Empty Quarter hopes that this particular process change will end soon.

Sunday 12 January 2014 is a public holiday in the United Arab Emirates

Sunday 12 January 2014 is a public holiday in the United Arab Emirates on the occasion of the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and all government agencies in the UAE will be closed.