Kuwait - trade mark office accepting priority applications

Further to an earlier post (here) that Kuwait has acceded to the Paris Convention news from good friends SMAS in their 25 December 2014 newsletter that priority applications will be accepted by the Trade Mark Office from 1 January 2015.

The newsletter reads:

On the second of December, 2014, Kuwait has joined the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. As a result, the Kuwaiti Trademark Office has made an announcement that states that priority claims will be available for trademark applications starting 1st of January, 2015. According to the announcement, any applicant can claim priority within the six months priority period.

Typically, official charges has been posed by the office in exchange for the newly introduced service. For more information in regards to that matter, please contact us at Kuwait@smas-ip.com

Bahrain - Trade Mark Office accepting sound marks

News from good friends SMAS in their 25 December 2014 email newsletter that the Trade Mark Office in Bahrain is accepting sound marks. The news reads:

The Bahrain Trademark Office has recently started accepting sounds marks as per the official note released on the 18th November 2014. The sounds mark will be governed by trademark Law No. 11/2006 and hence, will be subject of examination and publication procedures in the official Bulletin and which will be available for the public to hear. The applicant of the sound mark will have to submit besides the requirements prescribed by the Trademark law for any trade and service mark the following:
A CD containing the sound mark in MP3 format or an equivalent format.
A clear written note of the sound mark.

In its efforts to curtail the examination period for the trade-service marks, the Bahrain Trademark Office issued a note emphasizing that the deadline to suffice any missing document is Three month from the application date. Passing this deadline, the mark shall not be examined and will be considered abandoned. SMAS-IP invites its clients and partners to observe the deadline as no exception is to be granted by the TMO.

For any information or clarification regarding the above, kindly send your inquiries to Bahrain@smas-ip.com and we will be glad to assist you.

Oman - Consumer Protection Law

News from good friends Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP in their December Oman Client Bulletin that a new Consumer Protection Law has been enacted by Royal Decree 66 of 2014. A detailed analysis of the provisions of the new law appears in the Bulletin (but not yet on their very useful http://omanlawblog.curtis.com/).