The Kuwaiti TMO has introduced a number of substantial procedural changes pursuant to Ministerial Decree No. 500 of 2015 published on December 27, 2015 (approving the Implementing Regulations of the GCC Trademark Law).

  • The opposition period has been modified. The period will no longer end 30 days from the third publication in the Official Gazette. The opposition period will now be 60 days from publication date according to Article 12 of the regulations, bringing the procedure more in line with international standards.
  • Based on Article 4 of the regulations, a legalized Certificate of Incorporation or an Extract from the Commercial Register must be submitted in support of a trademark application. A certificate of home or foreign registration/application is no longer a requirement. The Certificate of Incorporation or an Extract from the Commercial Register may be used for subsequent filings.
  • Notices for renewal, as well as notices for the recordal of assignment, change of name, change of address, and change of local agent will be published in the Official Gazette. This was not the case in the past.

  • Counterstatements in response to an opposition can now be submitted within 60 days from receipt of notification, instead of 30 days. Also, the deadline to appeal the Registrar’s decision in an opposition has been extended. It is now 30 days from notification date instead of 10 days.

Revised Filing Requirements

  • POA, legalized 
  • Certificate of Incorporation or Extract from the Commercial Register, legalized
  • Certified copy of priority document, if priority is claimed, legalized

All of the above documents must be submitted within 3 months from filing date.

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