Requirements of Trademark Applications
Trademark Application form & a power of
attorney legalized up to the Consulate of Kuwait is to be submitted.
Application form is to be in Arabic and should be prepared by a local
attorney, a Power of Attorney should be filed along with the
application, the name and capacity of the signatory/ies be specified
on the power of attorney, Official seal of the applicant's company be
affixed on the Power of Attorney. Power of attorney must be legalized
by a Kuwaiti consul in the applicant country.
- A certified copy of the home registration
certificate of the trademark stipulating clearly the validity term of
the registration and the goods and/or services desired to be
registered. (Documents other than in English or Arabic should be
accompanied with a sworn English translation.)
- Twelve prints of the
trademark for each class (preferably not exceeding 5x5 centimeters
each. Additional publication charges are to be paid for a large size
print). The prints can be prepared locally upon request. The prints
should be in exact conformity with the form of the mark shown on the
basic certificate of registration.
Duration
10 years from the date of filing and always
renewable for similar periods, Renewal must be applied for during the
last year before expiry or within three months grace period with
fine.
Protection
Legal protection is available through registration.
Registration confers proprietary right and ownership of a mark cannot
be contested after a lapse of five years from registration, provided
registrant has made a continuous use of the mark.
Required Time
If the
preliminary examination is acceptable to the trade mark office, the
first official acceptance may expect within 18 months from the filing
date, at least 2 years time is required for an application to
register.
Publication
After examination, the office may request a
disclaimer, if the conditions are acceptable to the applicant, the
trade mark is allowed for publication in Official Gazette for three
consecutive publications. If no opposition is filed within 30 days
from the third publication of the Official Gazette, the trade mark is
allowed to register in supplemental register.
Opposition
Upon publication, a trade mark application may be opposed by, the owner of
a mark previously filed/registered or owner of a non registered famous
mark, or any interested party who can file an opposition based on
absolute reasons. Such oppositions should be supported with copies of
early registration and details of use. The Registrar shall send, by
registered mail, a copy of the notice of opposition to the applicant
or his agent who shall, within 30 days from the receipt thereof, send
to the Registrar a written counter statement (in duplicate) of the
grounds on which he relies for his application, and, if he does not do
so, he shall be deemed to have abandoned his application. Upon study
the merits of the opposition the newly applied mark might be rejected
or suspended. If two or more persons apply at the same time for the
registration of the same mark or nearly identical or similar marks in
respect of the same class of product or services the Registrar shall
suspend all applications until an assignment approved by all parties
in favor of one of them is produced or until a final judgment is
rendered in favor of any of the disputing parties. Opposition must be
filed within 30 days of the date of the third publication of the
official gazette and no extension of days will be allowed in this
case.
Renewal of trademark
The Trademark Law provides for a six-month
grace period for late renewal of a trademark registration subject to
payment of a lateness fine. A trademark, which lapses, may be
re-registered in the name of a third party at any time.
Additional Information
Any foreign documents attached to the application should be
accompanied with English translation must be translated to Arabic and
should be legalized by the Ministry of Foreign affairs as well as the
Ministry of Justice in Kuwait.
Read about Copyrights, Trademarks,
Patent
|
