Apr 24, 2019IP Office Will Not Accept Division or Merger Requests of Intl. RegistrationBahrain has notified WIPO in accordance with new Rules 27bis(6) and 27ter(2)(b) of the Common Regulations, which entered into force on February 1, 2019.
Accordingly, new Rules 27bis(1) and 27ter(2)(a) of the Common Regulations do not apply. As a result, the IP Office will not present WIPO requests for the division of an international registration under new Rule 27bis(1) nor requests for the merger of international registrations resulting from division under new Rule 27ter(2)(a).
For further information, please refer to hereSource: www.wipo.int Oct 30, 2018 (Newsletter Issue 18/18)
Value Added Tax Rate Introduced Soon
On October 5, 2018, the Kingdom of Bahrain issued Law No. 48 of 2018 with respect to Value-Added Tax (VAT Law). The VAT Law will come into effect from January 1, 2019, making Bahrain the third Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Member State to introduce value-added tax (VAT).
The VAT rate will be five percent and will be applicable on all Intellectual Property matters.
Source: www.agip.com
Sep 05, 2017 (Newsletter Issue 15/17)
New Practice for Filing New Trademark Applications
The Industrial Property Office of Bahrain (IPO) set a new practice to file new trademark applications in Bahrain, as it will no more accept the P.O. Box address only for filing new trademark applications in Bahrain. Instead, the complete address of the applicant (building name, number, and street name) should be mentioned in the application form.
This new practice will be also reflected on the Power of Attorney.
Source: www.agip.com
Mar 29, 2017 (Newsletter Issue 6/17)New Electronic System Introduced A new electronic system has been introduced in Bahrain for the filing of trademarks on an online platform. The salient features include the submitting of the applications with PoAs online and also the provision of adding conditions to the application; eg. disclaiming use of exclusive words etc. It is also meant to add flexibility to the local agents in handling such cases; furthermore it is anticipated that the system would be expanded to include all trademark related procedures in the near future.
Source: JAH & Co. IP, Qatar May 31, 2016 (Newsletter Issue 10/16)Official Fees Increased/TM Applications PublishedBahrain has increased the official fees to conform to the Law 6/2016 of the GCC Trade Mark Law and its Implementing Regulations which came into immediate effect as of May 29, 2016. A copy of the new official charges is available here.
The new official fees for filing up to registration for a trademark registration have increased to BHD 650 (approx. USD 1,722). The new official fees will cover all trademarks matters filed from May 29, 2016 as well as retroactively for pending trademarks applications.
Furthermore, the Bahraini Trademarks Office has issued new stipulations to enforce the Article 11 of Executive Regulations of GCC Trademark Law issued with the decision No. 65/2016, according to which the accepted trademark applications will be published on the official website (www.moic.gov.bh) of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism every Thursday.
Source: JAH & Co. IP, Qatar Dec 08, 2015 (Newsletter Issue 19/15)Infringement Cases by Office Now ReceivedThe Directorate of Industrial Property informs by an official circular that the office is open to receive infringement cases with regards to trademarks, design and patent protected within the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The complaint is filed at the Industrial Property Control Section within the Directorate of Industrial Property. The complaint needs to be accompanied with the following:
1. A power of attorney with an Apostille certification if the country of the applicant company is a member of the Hague Convention; otherwise the power of attorney should be legalized up to an Bahraini consulate abroad.
2. Copy of the registration certificate of the trademark/design/patent in Bahrain which has been infringed.
3. Copies and samples of client and infringed mark/design/patent.
The representative of the complainant can assist the inspectors to allocate the infringed products and premises.
Source: JAH & Co. IP, Qatar Dec 09, 2014 (Newsletter Issue 19/14)Filing Without the Complete Documents PossibleThe Bahraini Trademark Office declared on 18 November 2014 under directives numbered MS/14/34-1 that as of the said date onwards it is permitted under the practice of the Bahraini Trademark Registrar to file trademark applications and obtain filing number and date as well as the official filing certificate without the complete required documents which can be submitted within a non-extendable term of three months from the date of filing; or else their applications will be declared abandoned.
Source: JAH & Co. IP, Qatar Dec 09, 2014 (Newsletter Issue 19/14)Filing of Sound Marks are Possible NowThe Bahraini Trademark Office at the Directorate of Industrial Property with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce will start the acceptance of filing sounds trademark as per directives issued under circular number 14/23-3 on 18 November 2014 as of that date.
The requirements to file a sound mark are:
1. Musical note composing of the sound mark written clearly;
2. Compact Disk containing the musical note recited in MP3 audio format or any other compatible format;
3. A power of attorney with appostille certification;
4. A copy of certificate of incorporation and extract from the commercial register of the applicant company.
Sound trademarks will be examined in the same manner as traditional trademark applications and will be subject to trademark law of Bahrain No. 11 of 2006 concerning standard trademarks. A modified trademark application format has be created for the purpose of filing sound trademarks.
On examination and acceptance of sound trademarks the mark will be published in the Official Gazette with the musical composition printed in the space specified for the traditional trademark print with an indication that any interested party might resort to the Directorate of Industrial Property for obtaining a copy of the compact disk for opposition purposes. A registration certificate of the sound mark will be due for issuance upon expiry of the opposition term.
A sound trademark will dealt with as a traditional trademarks as to official fees and procedures of registration in accordance with the Bahraini Trademarks Law No. 11 of 2006.
Source: JAH & Co. IP, Qatar Mar 18, 2014 (Newsletter Issue 5/14)
GCC Trademarks Law Approved
The decision No. 6 of 2014 approving the unified Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Trademark Law which was ratified in Bahrain in 2012 has been issued by the Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa.
The GCC Trademark Law is expected to enter into force in Bahrain six months after its Implementing Regulations are issued.
In this regard, Kingdom of Bahrain is still adopting the current Trademark Law No. 11 of 2006 until the GCC Trademark Law is effective.
The Law, which comprises 52 articles, outlines the general directives and rulings governing trademark registration, renewal, assignment and cancellation procedures in the GCC countries.
Source: www.agip.com
Feb 18, 2014 (Newsletter Issue 3/14)
Accession to Hague Apostille Convention
The Kingdom of Bahrain announced that legalization of Power of Attorney and other supporting documents required for all Intellectual Property (IP) related matters would no longer be required. The Bahraini consulates abroad will no longer provide legalization services for documents if the applicant’s country is a member of the Hague Convention (5 October 1961).
This decision came as a result of Bahrain’s accession to the Hague Convention abolishing the requirements of legalization of foreign public documents, and it entered into force as from 31 December 2013.
Accordingly, the apostille documents are sufficient for filing with the Industrial Property Office and the Patent Office in Bahrain.
Source: www.agip.com
Apr 17, 2012 (Newsletter Issue 6/12)
New Trade Name Law
The new Trade Name Law (Law no. 18 of 2012) has been recently issued in Bahrain. This Law was drafted back in February 2011. The salient features of Law no. 18 of 2012 are as follows:
- The new trade name shall be new and innovative.
- The new trade name shall not be identical or similar to a well-known mark nor to any other mark.
- The new trade name shall not include any political, military or religious content.
- The new trade name shall not refer to any regional, Arab or international organization.
- The use of the new trade name shall not create any confusion with other names of company owners or product distributors.
Source: www.sabaip.com
Jun 13, 2011 (Newsletter Issue 8/11)Annuity Payment Reminder for Industrial DesignsWith the Implementing Regulations for the Industrial Designs Law issued in the Official Gazette No. 2936 dated February 25, 2010, payment of design annuities became applicable in Bahrain.
The Patent Office has now started to accept annuities for the existing valid design registrations.
The annuities are counted from the anniversary of the publication date. At present, the Patent Office accepts annuities, which are due for payment after February 25, 2010, which is the issuance date of the implementing regulations of Industrial Designs.
Further, it is noted, that as per the new Industrial Designs Law (2006) in Bahrain, all industrial design registrations are valid for a period of 10 years from the date of registration and renewable for a further period of 5 years.
Source: JAH & CO. IP, Qatar Apr 16, 2011 (Newsletter Issue 7/11)
PoA Requirements Changed
The Bahraini Industrial Property Office (BIPO) has issued a statement requesting to provide a legalized Power of Attorney (PoA) up to a Bahraini Consulate within three months from the date of filing. Prior to this statement it was requested to submit the legalized PoA at the time of filing.
In case there is no Embassy of Bahrain, then authenticating by any Arab consulate will be accepted.
Source: NJQ & Associates
Apr 01, 2011 (Newsletter Issue 6/11)
Trademark & Patent Office Fully Operational
The Bahraini Trademark and Patent Office is now back to its normal working hours after it had been partially operational due to the unrest in Bahrain.
Source: www.njq-ip.com
Feb 23, 2011 (Newsletter Issue 3/11)
Legalized Power of Attorney Requested
The Bahrain Trademark and Patent Office (BTMO) has announced that only powers of attorney that are legalized up to any Arab consulate will be accepted. This means that simply signed powers will no longer be admissible in support of trademark, patent and design applications. The document must be submitted at the time of filing.
This decision will cover all trademark transactions, including renewal, assignment, merger and change of name.
Source: NJQ & Associates
Trademark Protection in Bahrain is governed by GCC Law No. 6 of 2014 (“New Law”) and it's implementing regulations which came into force in May 2016.
Ministerial Decision No. 65 of 2016 issuing the implementing regulation of the New Law was issued on May 23, 2016, published in the Official Gazette No. 3263 on May 26, 2016, and became effective on May 27, 2016.
Bahrain is a member of Paris Convention, Hague Convention, Madrid Protocol, Trademark Law Treaty and Nice Agreement.
Trademark protection is obtained by registration. However, a trademark application can be opposed successfully upon producing sufficient proof of prior use of the mark in Bahrain and elsewhere in the world.
Also, well-known trademarks enjoy protection under the provisions of the Paris Convention even if they are not registered in Bahrain.
Nice classification, 11th edition
GCC Law No. 6 of 2014, Art. 2:
“Shall be considered a trademark anything having a distinctive form such as names, words, signatures, letters, figures, drawings, logos, titles, hallmarks, seals, pictures, engravings, packs or any other mark or group of marks if used or intended to be used either to distinguish goods, products or services of a facility or other facilities or to indicate the rendering of a service or the control of inspection of goods or services. Sound or odour could be considered as a trademark.”
Protection under the new law has been expanded to include registration of sounds, smells, and shapes of goods, packaging, colour, combination and photographic elements.
The following trademark types are registrable: Trademarks, service marks, collective marks, certification marks, trade names and titles of establishment. As per the current practice, trademarks bearing surnames which are known to the public (reputable merchant families residing in the GCC) are given protection only if filed in stylised form.
The application is filed on the web portal of the Industrial Property Office: https://www.moic.gov.bh/ipd/home
A separate application has to be filed for each class with the possibility of claiming class heading or any specific items. Use of the phrase ” all goods and services “ in a certain class is also possible.
Foreign applicants need a local IP Agent or a law firm to file a trademark application with a valid IP agent registration pursuant to Decision (58) 2018.
A power of attorney with an Apostille certification if the country is a member of the Hague Convention or Embassy legalization is required.
Foreign applicants do not need a domestic registration.
The application can be filed by the use of clearly scanned copies of the required documents or without necessary documents at the time of filing which can be submitted at a later stage, normally within 90 days from receiving official notification from the Industrial Property Office at no additional cost otherwise the application will be deemed abandoned.
The application process includes a formal examination, an examination of distinctiveness and a search for prior trademarks. Signs not deemed distinctive in the examination can be registered if distinctiveness has been acquired by use or if there is a registration in any country following a substantial examination system.
The processing time from first filing to registration is approx. 5 to 7 months.
Accepted trademark applications will be published on the trademark official gazette, which is available on the official website (www.moic.gov.bh) of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism every Thursday. Following publication and expiry of 60 days of opposition term date of publication the official registration fees should be settled within 30 days (non-extendible) and an e-certificate will be issued upon settlement of the said fees.
National:The opposition period is 60 days from the publication date of the application (non-extendible).
Details regarding the
Opposition Period against designation of IR Mark are available in our publication on this topic
here
A trademark registration is valid for 10 years from date of application.
The registration is renewable for periods of 10 years. The renewal fees should be paid within the last year of the protection.
Practical details on grace periods for trademark renewals are available in our publication
herePractical details on trademark use requirements are available in our publication
hereThe official fee for filing a trademark application is BHD 100 per class for each additional class is BHD 100. The official registration fee is BHD 500 and the official fee for publication is BHD 50.
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Practical details on trademark licensing are available in our publication
hereOnline you can see a limited part of information about this country.
More in-depth details are available for the following aspects:
General Trademark Regulations
Trademark Use Requirements
Grace Period for Trademark Renewal
Trademark Licensing
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Jul 19, 2023
JAH Intellectual Property, Doha, Qatar
