Iraq - new requirements for class 5 applications

News from good friends Saba & Co (on their website here) of changes to practice in Iraq for class 5 applications. They report that:

"The Trademark Office in Baghdad recently introduced a revised set of requirements in support of trademarks applications in class 5, even though there was no Ministerial Resolution issued in this regard. Applicants are now required to provide the information listed below when filing applications covering pharmaceutical and veterinary preparations and sanitary preparations for medical purposes. This will apply on all new as well as pending applications that have not been examined yet.

• International Nonproprietary Name
• Name of manufacturer
• Name of distributor
• Drug formulation/Dosage form

After submission of the above information, the TMO is expected to obtain the approval of the country’s Ministry of Health before the underlying applications are placed for examination. The application will be rejected on formal grounds if applicant fails to provide all of the required information. It is still unclear whether the information must be admitted at the time of filing or within a specified period of time from filing date.

Syria is the only country in the Arab region to impose filing requirements that are specific to class 5 only (certificate of origin and list of ingredients). With Iraq now on board, the registration process for pharmaceutical trademarks becomes unique to class 5 in these two countries. For the remaining countries in the region, the process remains standard regardless of the type of class involved.

We will be reviewing files of all pending trademark applications and will be notifying clients of all missing information in order to complete the records at the TMO, and eventually place the applications in the pipeline for examination.

Should you have any questions, or require any additional information, please contact us at news@sabaip.com"

Iraq - a tale of two trade mark offices

News from good friends Saba & Co on their website that a trade mark registration issued by the Trade Mark Office in Baghdad can no longer be validated at the Trade Mark Office in Erbil. A separate application must now be filed at the Trade Mark Office in Erbil.

The update from Saba (here) reads:

"It is no longer possible for owners to validate registered trademarks at the Trademark Office in Baghdad up to the TMO in Erbil. Owner can now only file a separate application in the Kurdish region for additional local protection.

By way of background, there are two TMOs operating in Iraq: one in Baghdad and another in Erbil. In principle, the scope of the registration at the TMO in Baghdad still covers the whole country, including the Kurdish region. However, trademark owners may seek additional protection by filing applications at the TMO in Erbil. Protection in the Kurdish region is advisable in certain situations especially in an infringement claim. Trademark owners should of course seek sound advice before they decide on the best route to pursue.

Should you have any questions, or require any additional information, please contact us at info@sabaip.com"

Iraq - progress of trade mark applications

News from good friends SMAS of progress in examining trade mark applications in Iraq.

In September 2013 the Trade Mark Office was examining applications in the 52,000 range. In June 2014 the Trade Mark was examining applications in the 54,000 range.  The Trade Mark Office is now examining applications in the 56,000 range.

Earlier posts on the progress of examination are here, here, here, and here.

Adjust your reminders accordingly, progress continues to be slow.

Iraq - progress of trade mark applications

News from good friends SMAS of progress in examining trade mark applications in Iraq. Earlier posts on the progress of examination are here, here, and here. Applications with numbers in the 65,000 range are not expected to be examined for 3 or 4 years. Adjust your reminders accordingly, progress continues to be painfully slow.

Eid Al Adha 2014 holidays

News from good friends Kadasa & Partners that the public sector will be closed in Saudi Arabia from Sunday 28 September 2014 to Thursday 9 October 2014. With the weekend now falling on Friday and Saturday this results in the last working day being Thursday 25 September until Sunday 12 October 2014. These closures will affect the Saudi Trade Mark and Patent offices as well as the GCC Patent Office.

The UAE government has announced (here) that all government departments will be closed on Sunday 5th and Monday 6th October for the Edi Al Adha. The Trade Mark and Patent Offices will re open on Tuesday 7th October 2014.

News from good friends Abdelhadi IP that the Egyptian Patent & Trademark Offices and the Courts will be closed until Monday 6th October, reopening, along with their offices, on Tuesday 7th October 2014. 

News from good friends SMAS that the Yemeni Trade Mark and Patent offices will be closed from Friday 3 October to Saturday 11 October, reopening in Sunday 12 October.

News from good friends SMAS that the Iraqi Trade Mark and Patent offices will be closed from Friday 3 October to Saturday 11 October, reopening in Sunday 12 October.

Eid Mubarak!

Iraq - progress of trade mark applications

News of progress of the examination of trade mark applications at the Trade Mark Office in Iraq.

As reported here, in September 2013 the Trade Mark Office was examining application in the 52,000 range.  News this month that the Trade Mark is now examining applications in the 54,000 range.

This part of the Empty Quarter feels this is painfully slow progress.

Iraq - Power of Attorney requirements

News from AGIP in their April 2014 Bulletin sent out on 8 May 2014 that the Trade Mark Office in Iraq announced on 10 April that applications must be accompanied by a complete legalised Power of Attorney. Further details can be found on their website here.

This part of the Empty Quarter hopes that all countries will sign up to the Hague Convention and no longer require the legalisation of documents while acknowledging that this is unlikely to happen in the short to medium term.

No new trade mark applications in Iraq

News from good friends SMAS that the Iraqi Trade Mark Office has stopped taking new trade mark applications until further notice. New regulations are due to be issued regarding legalisation of Powers of Attorney.

This part of the Empty Quarter is disappointed by this news. A Trade Mark Office should continue to function until new regulations are issued. Operations should only be suspended in the most unusual circumstances. This part of the Empty Quarter hopes that the new regulations will be issued soon so that operations can be re-started.

Eid Al Adha 2013 holidays

With thanks to good friends SMAS, who sent this out today, here is a table of government holidays across the region:

Bahrain - Monday 14 October 2013 to Saturday 19 October 2013Egypt - Monday 14 October 2013 to Saturday 19 October 2013
Iraq - Tuesday 15 October 2013 to Saturday 19 October 2013
Jordan - Monday 14 October 2013 to Saturday 19 October 2013
Kuwait - Friday 11 October 2013 to Saturday 19 October 2013
Lebanon - Tuesday 15 October 2013 to Saturday 19 October 2013
Libya - Monday 14 October 2013 to Sunday 20 October 2013
Morocco - Wednesday 16 October 2013 to Saturday 19 October 2013
Oman - Monday 14 October 2013 to Saturday 19 October 2013
Palestine - Sunday 13 October 2013 to Saturday 19 October 2013
Qatar - Sunday 13 October 2013 to Sunday 20 October 2013
Saudi Arabia - Thursday 10 October 2013 to Sunday 20 October 2013
Sudan - Saturday 12 October 2013 to Saturday 19 October 2013
Syria - Sunday 13 October 2013 to Saturday 19 October 2013
Tunisia - Tuesday 15 October 2013 to Wednesday 16 October 2013
U.A.E - Saturday 12 October 2013 to Saturday 19 October 2013
Yemen - Sunday 13 October 2013 to Sunday 20 October 2013

Iraq - progress of trade mark applications

News of progress of the examination of trade mark applications at the Trade Mark Office in Iraq.

In December 2010 a report was received that the Trade Mark Office were examining application numbers 44,000 to 45,000. In January 2012 it was reported that the Trade Mark Office were examining a group of applications bearing numbers in the 50,000 range. And then today news that the Trade Mark Office is examining applications in the 52,000 range.

This part of the Empty Quarter feels this is painfully slow progress.  

Iraq - Trade Mark searches

News from good friends Saba & Co that searches at the Trade Mark Office in Iraq are taking up to 6 months to complete.

Saba & Co offer an alternative which is for them to search all the applications they have handled as well as all publications in the Official Gazette from 2004 until now. 

The Thomson Compumark Serion system claims to be able to search all marks published from 1976 to (at the time of typing this post) 30 May 2013.

This part of the Empty Quarter believes that information held by a trade mark office should be readily accessible and that inaccurate, incomplete or delayed search results are not beneficial to consumers or rights holders.

Legalisation of Powers of Attorney in Iraq

The Trade Mark Office in Iraq requires that an original Power of Attorney from the applicant is submitted with the application. The Power of Attorney cannot be from an agent on behalf of the applicant unless the original Power of Attorney from the applicant to the agent is also submitted (see here for earlier post).

The Power of Attorney must be legalised before being submitted to the Trade Mark Office. That involves legalisation to the Iraqi Embassy in the country of execution. The Power of Attorney must then be stamped by the Tax Department in Iraq, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iraq and Ministry of Justice in Iraq all of which can take more than four months. The hint of a silver lining is that there are no additional fees for the late filing of the Power of Attorney.

This part of the Empty Quarter continues to hope that countries will do away with the need for legalisation as it is an unnecessary administrative and financial burden on rights holders which acts as a barrier to entry to the market and delays the processing of applications for marks.

Iraqi Trade Mark Office Power of Attorney requirements

News recently of a change in practice at the Iraqi Trade Mark Office on Powers of Attorney. The change in practice covers situations where there is a chain of Powers of Attorney. So the client grants a Power of Attorney to a regional managing agent (the primary PoA). The regional managing agent grants a Power of Attorney to a local agent (the delegated PoA) using the power of delegation contained in the primary PoA. The Iraqi Trade Mark Office now requires in addition to the delegated PoA that either the original or a certified copy of the primary PoA be submitted. To make matters more interesting the primary PoA must be legalised to the Iraqi Embassy.

This additional requirement is frustrating if the regional managing agent operates in a country where a certified copy will not be accepted for legalisation.

This part of the Empty Quarter waits for the day when the countries in the region do away with the requirement to legalise documents. The cost and time required is considerable.

Iraq Patent Office requires Israel boycott declaration

News has reached this part of the Empty Quarter from a client that the Iraqi Patent Office has recently started to require that applications for patents be accompanied by an Israel boycott declaration. In this particular example the declaration is required in the Power of Attorney provided by the local agent to the client and the local agent has confirmed that failure to provide the declaration will result in the application being rejected on the basis that the formality requirements have not been met. The boycott declaration had been a requirement in Iraq, but has not been since 2008. The Whats Up In IP? blog reports the same issue from last year.


This part of the Empty Quarter prefers clarity and hopes that an official announcement will be made by the authorities in Iraq as to whether the Israel boycott declaration is required or not.