QATAR

• Filing Requirements:

1. A power of attorney duly signed by an authorized signatory and legalized up to the Qatari Consulate or any other Arab Consulate in the applicants country.

2. A simple copy of the certificate of incorporation of the applicant company or an extract of the entry of the applicant in the commercial register.

3. Name, nationality, address, legal status, nature of business, etc. of the applicant company.

4. A list of goods and services to be covered by the application, the protection of the class cannot include all goods and services for classes 1, 4 to 7, 10 to 14, 16 to 22, 29 and 31 as they are not entirely granted by the Trade Mark Law, one item must always be excluded from these classes.

5. Five prints of the trademark.

6. A certified copy of the priority document if it is claimed.

N.B:

Documents 1 and 2 must be submitted at the time of filing. The original certified copy of the priority document should be submitted at the time of filing the application.  Late filing of documents is not permitted under the practice of the Qatari Trademark Registrar unless priority will be claimed whereby a trademark application can be filed without the requisite documents 1 & 2 which can be submitted at a later stage without a time limit and at no additional cost.

Search results need 7-10 working days to be issued.

Official Trademark Office search covers word marks and Logos.

• Time Frame:

The approximate time frame for completing the registration process of a trademark in Qatar is from 8 to 15 months

• Validity:

The duration of a trademark registration is for 10 years from the filing date.

• Notes:

Services marks may be registered according to the 7Th edition of the Nice Classification.

A separate application is to be filed for each class of goods/services.

Applications cannot be filed without complete documents.

• Renewal Requirements:

1. A power of attorney duly signed by an authorized signatory and legalized up to the Qatari Consulate or any other Arab Consulate in the applicants country.

2. Copy of the final registration certificate or last renewal certificate.

• Notes:

The validity of the trademark registration in Qatar is ten years as from the filing date.  Thereafter, a trademark registration is renewable for further consecutive periods of ten years each.  

The renewal fees of a trademark registration can be paid during the last 12 months of the current protection period. There is a 6 months grace period within which a late renewal application can be filed, but such a late renewal application is subject to the payment of additional fees.

• Requirements for Recordal of Change of name/address/legal status:

1. A Power of Attorney in the new name and/or address signed and sealed with the official stamp of the registrant company Duly Notarized & Legalized up to a Qatari consulate abroad.

2. A certified copy of the certificate of change of name and/or address.

• Requirements for Recordal of assignment or merger:

1. A Power of Attorney signed by the assignee company, sealed with its official stamp, and duly Notarized & Legalized up to a Qatari consulate or any other Arab consulate.

2. A Deed of assignment executed by the two parties and Duly Notarized & legalized up to the Consulate of Qatar or any Arab consulate.

3. A simple copy of the certificate of incorporation of the assignee.

• Requirements for Recordal of license:

1. A Power of Attorney signed by the licensee, stamped with its official seal, and Duly Notarized & Legalized up to a Qatari consulate or any Arab consulate.

2. An authenticated license agreement executed by the parties and Duly Notarized & Legalized up to a Qatari consulate abroad.

3. A simple copy of the certificate of incorporation of the licensee.

• Notes:

The agent for service is the only party that has the right to take actions in respect of a trademark; thus, the change of agent name and address is automatically recorded while providing a POA for the service in question.

In Qatar a license agreement has to be in writing. Licensing of unregistered marks is not permitted. Licenses can only be recorded for registered trademarks. A trademark may be licensed for some or all of the goods or services in respect of which the trademark is registered. The sale of a registered trademark does not automatically terminate the license, unless this is provided for as such in the sale agreement or in the license agreement originally executed by the parties. There are no statutory provisions prescribing the terms of a license agreement, but the terms and conditions agreed upon between the two parties constitute the license agreement.  There are provisions in law for the recordal of a licensee. The recordal is not mandatory, but it will not have any effect against third parties unless recorded in the Trademarks Register and published in the Trademarks Gazette. There is no time frame for a recordal and there is no prescribed form or content for the validity of a license agreement.