OMAN
December 04, 2017
On Monday July 31, 2017, a Royal Decree was published in the Official Gazette formalizing the implementation of the GCC Trademark Law. Oman becomes the fourth member of the Gulf Cooperation Council to implement its Trade Mark Law, after Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia (UAE and Qatar have not yet implemented).
The implementing regulations will be issued shortly, which will determine the official fees, the supporting documents or the duration of the examination period.
As a consequence of the implementation, the opposition period is reduced, from 90 days to 60 days, trademarks are defined broadly (including colors, sounds and smells), there should be a stronger protection for well-known trademarks as well as, in general, for trademark infringements.
We are waiting to see if, as happened in other countries, the implementation of the GCC Trade Mark Law results also in a substantial increase of the official fees.