The Congress has passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act on December 21, 2020.

Accordingly, the Act brings some alterations regarding trademark procedures which will be fundamental for trademark litigation and prosecution. Accordingly, seeking injunction has been eased ...
Read More

Due to the difficulties experienced during COVID 19, Brazilian Patent Office has started to accept executed agreements on condition that some requirements are met.

Accordingly, the first requirement is to execute the agreement electronically which will be handled by two pa ...
Read More

Following the recent GCC Supreme Council meeting, the GCC Patent office will no longer be accepting new patent filings as of January 6th 2021. At the 41st Supreme Council meeting, held on the 5th of January 2021, a decision was made to amend the existing GCC Patent Law, which has bee ...
Read More

In Turkey, a new social media law has entered into force on October 1, 2020.

As per the law, social media platforms which are accessed over 1 million times per day are required to appoint their local representatives in Turkey in due time.

Upon the expiration of ...
Read More

South Korea will enforce punitive damages in case of breach of trademark and design rights in order to further ensure the protection of knowledge- based intangible assets.

The revision has been approved by the National Assembly, says the Korean Intellectu ...
Read More

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) is in preparation of increasing the official fees concerning trademarks through its “Final Rule” which will be effective as of January 2, 2021.

Below you may find some of the ...
Read More

United Arab Emirates has recently annulled the rule which required 51% ownership of a UAE national for onshore companies. This means that a foreign person or company may own 100% share in a local UAE company.

The aim of this reform is to boost the country ...
Read More

Saudi Arabia Intellectual Property Office has recently launched a service for registration of collective marks which is in parallel with the international practice.

As it is known, a collective trademark is a trademark owned by an organization (e.g., asso ...
Read More

The House of Representatives of Cyprus has introduced amendments in the Trademark Law in order to align with the European Trademarks Directive (Directive (EU) 2015/2436).

The mentioned regulation has brought substantial amendments and changed the system of registration, ma ...
Read More

On 28 July, 2020, a new amendment to the Internet Law, which is Law no. 5651 on the Regulation of Broadcasts via the Internet and the Prevention of Crimes Committed Through such Broadcasts, has been introduced. Through this amendment, the term “Social Network ...
Read More

The Saudi Intellectual Property Authority has issued the first certificate for a sound trademark in the Kingdom.

The certificate has been issued for the Saudi Telecom Company.

It seems that the sounds which are innovative as well as distinctive ...
Read More

Governments and businesses across the Middle East are recognising the importance of riding the new wave of disruptive innovations that corresponds with the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The UAE, in particular, is committed to being at the forefront of this new arena. Indeed, ...
Read More

The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) has blocked 231 websites as they have found that those are violating the intellectual property laws in Saudi Arabia.

SAIP has established an organization to monitor and detect possible violations. Those blocked websites ...
Read More

Saudi Arabia declared that the VAT rate will be increased from 5% to 15%, which will be effective as of July 1, 2020.

Due to the pandemic which has affected the global economy, several measures have been taken and the tripling of the VAT rate has been cited as one of these ...
Read More

In yet another update, we are pleased to share the information that the Egypt Patent office will now accept patent applications without any late fees for applications which has the deadline from March 25, 2020 until June 25, 2020. The patent a ...
Read More

Amid COVID-19’s pandemic outbreak, Applicants’ usual business from different parts of the world has stalled globally. The Applicants are therefore unable to meet the statutory requirements for filing patent application in different jurisdictions.

Given the curr ...
Read More

The State of Qatar adopted Law No. 10 of 2020 for the Protection of Industrial Designs on April 19, 2020. This new law annulled the industrial design law dated 2002.

Adopting the new industrial design law has been a continuous&n ...
Read More

As Saudi Arabia continues to move forward with Vision 2030, the government has made a further step in unifying the body responsible for Intellectual Property matters. The Ministry of Trade and Investment will no longer be responsible for trademarks as the mandate is now being passed ...
Read More

The UAE government has made the decision to reduce fees with regards to services that are offered by the Ministry of the Economy, including Trademark related services. Under Cabinet Ministerial Decision 20/2020, a range of current fees will be disc ...
Read More

In response to the Corona pandemic, we want to provide you with an update on our ongoing efforts to continue assisting clients while also protecting the health and safety of our team.

As you know, UTPS operates in several countries. In some countries, the ...
Read More

INDIA: GOVERNMENT INTRODUCES MAJOR AMENDMENTS IN MANUAL OF PATENT OFFICE PRACTISE AND PROCEDURE

The Government of India introduced a New Manual of Patent Office Practice and Procedures. This New Manual seeks ...
Read More

UK: BREXIT

On the 31^st of January, 2020 the United Kingdom officially left the European Union. Starting from, February 1^st, 2020, the negotiation dealings with the EU began.The c ...
Read More