The Bahraini Authorities have recently announced the accession of Bahrain to the Apostille Convention (Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization for Foreign Public Documents). The Convention entered into force in the country on December 31, 2013.

Accordingly, Bahrain will start accepting Apostille legalization of documents related to trademarks, patents, industrial designs and all other IP related matters. There will be no need for further legalization up to the Bahraini Consulate as long as the applicant’s home country is a member of the Apostille Convention.

It is worth noting here that Bahrain and Oman are the only two Arab countries that are currently members of the Apostille Convention.
Should you have any specific inquiries regarding the subject matter, please contact us atinfo@sabaip.com.

 

Ethiopia: It’s Time to Audit your Portfolio!

    February 05, 2014

 

Following the new regulations implementing the Ethiopian Trademark Law of 2006, published on December 24, 2012, trademark owners are now expected to take specific measures when it comes to the particulars of their portfolio in order to ensure that everything is in order.

1- New trademark applications must be submitted by no later than June 22, 2014 for all marks filed in the country before July 7, 2006. These new applications will not be registered automatically but will be subject to examination on absolute and relative grounds.

2- Re-registration will not be required for the batch of trademarks filed between July 07, 2006 and June 22, 2007 (inclusive). These marks are now considered due for renewal seeing that the protection period is now 7 years instead of 6 from filing date. Application for renewal must be filed before June 22, 2014. 

3- Trademark applications filed after June 22, 2007 which have already matured into registration will be receiving new registration certificates. Requests should be submitted at the Trademark Office for this purpose well before the renewal due date of each mark.

In the table below, we summarize the important deadlines that owners should be aware of.

1- For all the trademarks filed before July 07, 2006

2- For all the Trademarks filed between July 07, 2006 and June 22, 2007 (inclusive)

3- For all the Trademarks filed after June 22, 2007

Action Required

Re-Registration of Trademarks

Renewal of Trademarks

Re-issuance of Certificate

Deadline

June 22, 2014

June 22, 2014

Renewal due date.

Requirements

– POA legalized  (A General POA may be acceptable)
– Certified copy of a Home or Foreign Registration Certificate (in English or simply translated into English)

POA legalized  (A General POA may be acceptable)

POA legalized  (A General POA may be acceptable)