The Omani Patent Office has recently started formal examination of all pending patent applications. All applicants are required to bring their files in line with the new formalities which were introduced on February 2010. This procedure comes as a preliminary step for substantive examination which is expected to begin soon.
For your information, the filing requirements of patent applications are as follows:
1- 3 copies of application form in English and in Arabic
2- 3 copies of the abstract of the invention in English and in Arabic
3- 3 copies of the technical specification and claims of the invention in English and in Arabic
4- 3 sets of formal drawings in English and in Arabic
5- Electronic copies of items 1 to 3
By way of background, the Omani Patent Office started accepting patent applications in 2005 after the introduction of the official fees schedule (published in Official Gazette no. 805 dated December 17, 2005), which completed Ministerial Decree no. 37 issued earlier on September 10, 2005 regarding the implementing regulations of Patent Law no. 82 of 2000. On May 12, 2008, Oman introduced a new Industrial Property Rights Law by virtue of royal decree no. 67 of 2008, which replaced Law no. 82 of 2000. The regulations implementing Law no. 67 of 2008 came into force in the country on December 17, 2008. Since then, however, the Patent Office was working on its setup in preparation for implementing the new regulations and so examination of patent applications was put on hold.
In light of the above, Saba & Co. IP will be reviewing all files in coordination with the Omani Patent Office and will notify clients of any incomplete records.
Should you have any questions regarding the subject matter, please contact us at info@sabaip.com.