Newsletter: July 2004

Qatar amendment of trademark filing Requirements 

The Registrar of the Qatari Trademark Office (QTMO) issued, as of June 28, new regulations amending the filing requirements as below :

1. Legalized power of attorney is required, earlier a simply signed power was accepted.
2. Certified copy of Extract from the Commercial Registrar of Incorporation or any equivalent document, earlier a legalization was required.
3. All documents must accompany the application when filed, while earlier, belated documents were accepted.
4. In case of priority application documents, these can be filed within 3 months after the date of application.

It is worth mentioning that Qatar is taking new measures to speed up the registration procedure.  It now takes 24 months from filing to registration, while it used to take up to five years.