OMAN LAW AND PRACTICE Contributed by: Said Al-Shahry, Thamer Al-Shahry, Jeremy Pooley, Maria Mariam Rabeaa Petrou, Shadha Al Kharusi and Salim Al Harthi, Said Al Shahry & Partners (SASLO )
The MOCIIP has 90 days from the date of receiv - ing all the required information and documents to consider the application and make its deci - sion. The MOCIIP may approve (subject to con - ditions) or reject the application. A rejected or conditioned application can be appealed to the Minister of the MOCIIP.
• If the Registrar grants the patent, the appli - cant will be required to pay the prescribed fee within 90 days. • The patent will be considered to be granted on the date of publication of such grant by the Registrar, and a certificate of grant signed by the Registrar will be issued. A patent generally expires 20 years after the fil - ing date. 7.2 Trade Marks The IPR Law also regulates trade marks. A trade mark is any sign capable of being represented graphically in a manner that distinguishes the goods or services of one supplier from those of another supplier. Broadly speaking, the procedure to register a trade mark is as follows. • The procedure is commenced by submitting a trade mark application in the prescribed form along with the relevant documents (such as details of the applicant and a power of attor - ney) to the Registrar. • The Registrar will then examine the applica - tion to ensure that it complies with the pre - scribed requirements and is capable of being registered. • Once the Registrar establishes that the application for registration meets all the legal requirements, the application will be pub - lished, and any interested party may submit a written objection to the registration to the Registrar after payment of the prescribed fees within 90 days of the publication date. • If no objection is raised, the Registrar shall register the trade mark, publish it and issue a registration certificate to the applicant. • Alternatively, the application for registration of the trade mark may be refused by the Regis -
7. Intellectual Property 7.1 Patents
Under the Industrial Property Rights Law RD 67/2008 (as amended – the “IPR Law”), an inven - tion is patentable if it is new, involves an innova - tive step, and is capable of industrial application. Broadly speaking, the procedure to register a patent is as follows. • The procedure is commenced by submitting an application to the Directorate of Intellectual Property at the MOCIIP (the Registrar) in the prescribed form, accompanied by a petition (containing all the data concerning the appli - cant, the inventor and the title of the inven - tion, and a statement proving the applicant’s right to the patent if they are not the inventor) and a description of the invention. • Eighteen months after the filing date, the Registrar will open the patent application for public examination. Upon payment of the prescribed fee at any time between the filing date and the expiry of such 18-month period, the applicant may request the Registrar to open the application for public examination. • If the Registrar considers that the require - ments set out in the IPR Law are not satisfied, they will notify the applicant to submit their observations and amend or divide the appli - cation within three months of the date of the notice.
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