Articles 2, 25, and 37 of Jordanian Trademark Law no. 33 of 1952 have recently been amended by virtue of Law no. 15 of 2008. The Law was published in Official Gazette no. 4900 on April 16, 2008 and became effective in the country as of its date of publication. Specifically, the amendments are in connection with three main issues:
(1) The Definition of Well-Known Trademarks: According to Article 2 of Law no. 33 of 1952, a mark is considered well-known if its fame exceeds the country of origin in which it was registered and if it is widely recognized by the general consuming public of Jordan as a designation of source of the goods or services of the mark’s owner. Pursuant to Law no. 15 of 2008, the extent to which a trademark is considered possessing the requisite degree of recognition in Jordan should also be determined in line with the international standards for the protection of well-known trademarks (Article 6bis of the Paris Convention and Article 16(2) of the TRIPS Agreement) of which Jordan is a member as well as other additional local standards.
(2) The Recordal of License Agreements: According to Article 25 of Law no. 33 of 1952, license recordal was compulsory in order to be effective against third parties. However, following the latest changes, license recordal is no longer necessary.
(3) Amount of Monetary Fines: According to Article 37 of Law no. 33 of 1952, violators were fined an amount not exceeding 3,000 Jordanian Dinar (around 4,250 US Dollars). Pursuant to Law no. 15 of 2008, the maximum fines imposed by law have been doubled (that is, 6,000 Jordanian Dinar or around 8,500 US Dollars)
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