AGIP Egypt Office Resumes Activities

Transcription

1 January 2011 AGIP on Social Networks Indian Patents Act Undergoes Changes aeda Announces Extension for Sunrise Period (dotemarat) ITIDA Enforces International Patents Registration Program Page 2 Page 4 Page 7 Page 7 AGIP Egypt Office Resumes Activities CAIRO would like to inform its clients and associates that its Egypt Office has fully resumed its activities, suspended last two weeks due to the unrest in Egypt. Meanwhile regarding to governmental activities, the Egyptian Trademark Office and Patent Office have also resumed their work. Two weeks ago, AGIP s teams worked relentlessly from various locations inside and outside Egypt to ensure immediate filing and response in due time. We advise our clients to send all documents, couriers, letters, and mails to our office in Egypt as usual using the below address: Premises address: A26 Smart Village, km 28 Cairo/Alex Desert Road October-6, Egypt P.O.Box: 150 Smart Village Tel: (+ 202) Fax: (+ 202) egypt@agip.com Website: 1

2 AGIP on Social Networks AMMAN - now has a presence on various social networks which represent effective outlets to stay up-to-date on all Intellectual Property issues. AGIP has chosen to connect people around the world who share interests and activities related to IP news and will provide real-time information on the latest events, issues and at the same time stays connected to our clients, associates and friends. To stay up to date, follow AGIP on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and our legal blog, AGIP Turkey Office Attends the Seminar: Current Trademark and Design Cases from Turkey and Europe ANKARA - Turkish Patent Institute organized a workshop titled Current Trademark and Design Cases from Turkey and Europe between January 24-25, In the workshop, the current decisions made by the European Court of Justice and German Supreme Courts regarding the registration of trademarks and designs are discussed. The cases are presented by a judge from Munich Federal High Court and an expert from OHIM. The participants discussed each case during the workshop. The workshop witnessed the participation of AGIP Turkey Office, Ms. Gizem Atasu (Marketing Officer), Ms. Ozlem Arslan (Executive Director of Turkey Office), Ms. Hatice Toksoy (TM & Patent Attorney at AGIP Turkey), Ms. Sibel Kaya (TM Attorney at AGIP Turkey) (from left to right). Ms. Arslan commented We need to get up to date in order to be able to deal with the current issues in the field of intellectual property, and being informed regarding the current cases of trademark and design registration would help us provide our clients with more efficient services and exceed their expectations. The participation of Turkey Office in the seminar is of great importance in terms of catching up with the latest practices both in Turkey and Europe, she added. AGIP Cyprus Office Relocates NICOSIA - would like to inform its clients and associates that AGIP Cyprus Office moved to a new location. Accordingly, the address will be as follows: 24 Gregoriou Xenopoulou Str. Kyza Court, Office Nicosia, Cyprus Telephone No.: Fax No.: The postal address and address remain unchanged. 2

3 Trademark Recordation with Ras Al Khaimah Customs Department Introduced RAS AL KHAIMAH - Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property announced in a press release that Ras Al Khaimah Customs Department introduced on January 1, 2011, the Trademark Recordation service with the Department that will tighten Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) protection and enforcement in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As per a communiqué issued by the Department, a copy of which has been obtained by AGIP, Recordation with Ras Al Khaimah Customs Department is being introduced for the third time in the UAE after being introduced earlier in Dubai & Sharjah. This service gives trademarks proprietors protection against the unauthorized importation of goods bearing trademarks or logos identical or similar to their trademarks through recordation with the Customs Department of any trademarks registered with the UAE Ministry of Industry (Trademark Office). Upon this recordation, the Customs officials across all Ras Al Khaimah Customs border points shall have the right to stop and seize any goods found to bear similar or identical trademark(s) to the original one(s). In case of suspicious goods, the Customs Department will inform the proprietors of the original trademarks through AGIP in order to take legal action against those responsible for importing the goods in question to Ras Al Khaimah. The recordation procedures are very simple and no further documents need to be provided other than certified copy of the registration certificate and a specimen of the mark as currently used on the products. AGIP is the leading regional firm for global IPR services, providing Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection, domain name registration, portfolio management, infringement watch and legal representation. AGIP operates out of its regional office in Amman (Jordan) and its 30 fully owned offices covering all the Arab region, Pakistan, India and Turkey. AGIP covers the globe through its liaison offices in the US, Canada, Europe and China as well as its worldwide network of 150 correspondents. Indian Trademarks Rules 2002 Amended trade mark searches as well as fees for filing trade marks. Consequently, the official trade mark searches have been discontinued forthwith by the Trademarks Registry and have been made available freely on its official website. Further, the filing fee in respect of a new trade mark application has been increased from INR 2,500/- to INR 3,500/- per application with effect from December 29, 2010, the date of publication of Gazette Notification. Accordingly, a deficit fee of INR 1,000/- has to be paid in respect of applications submitted on or after December 29, 2010 till January 13, 2011 with the previous filing fee of INR 2,500/-. NEW DELHI would like to inform its clients that the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion of the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry has published a notification in the official Gazette on December 29, 2010 stating that the Trademarks Rules, 2002 have been amended in respect of The last date for submitting the said balance fee is February 28, Failure to pay the said fee on or before the deadline would result in the shifting of the filing date to the actual date of payment of the deficit fee. Further, we are pleased to announce that AGIP India will attend the deficit fee for its clients without incurring any additional cost to them. 3

4 Indian Patents Act Undergoes Changes NEW DELHI would like to inform its clients that the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion of the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry has published a notification, in the official Gazette of India, which is a draft of certain rules and does not carry the force of the law as yet, these may be called Draft Patent Rules (Amendment) The notification describes a new format of preparing the patent specification, with a special emphasis on line numbers, page numbers and kind of paper to be used, etc. Also, it highlights that Indian Patent Office can soon be elected as an International Search Authority. The said Draft will be accepted by the Central Government by end of January 2011, to look into the feedback received from people; and it shall come into force on the date of its final publication in the official Gazette. Yemen to Partake in Regional Conference on IP Legislations SANA A - Yemen is to participate in the Regional Conference on the Intellectual Property (IP) legislations to be kicked off in Kuwait on January 23, according to Yemen News Agency (Saba). The three-day conference is organized by the Kuwait Institute for Legal and Judicial Studies in collaboration with World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Director General of Public Relation and Information Department at Justice Ministry Khaled al-dobais said that the conference would discuss a number of topics related to IP legislations, particularly international protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and the roles of public and private sectors to fight forgery and piracy. The conference will also deal with the issues of economic development role to save intellectual property rights and TRIPS agreement, copyright infringement and related rights, intellectual property in the digital age and electronic commerce, he added. New IP Law in Rwanda KIGALI The Rwandan Intellectual property Law has been changed on December 14, 2009, and it is now in full effect in Rwanda following its publication in the official Gazette, according to Lysaght & Co. Main changes related to the law are as follows: Trademarks filed and registered under the old law will be valid for period of 10 years from the date of entry into force of the new law. Non-use of a mark for a period of three years from registration renders it open to an action for cancellation by third parties. Any changes of the ownership of registration must be recorded at the Trade Mark Registry to be enforceable against third parties and that applies to Licences also. 4

5 Roadmap of Turkish Industry Announced ISTANBUL - Turkey Industrial Strategy Document and Action PlanФ issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade was announced by Nihat Ergun, Minister of Industry and Trade in a meeting held in Istanbul Ciragan Palace. According to the Turkish Patent Institute (TPI), the meeting was attended by Prof. Dr. Habip Asan, TPI director. In the document, it is stated that innovation and improvement of technological infrastructure should be at the center of the competition policies of firms. The importance of Research and Development (R&D) and innovation was emphasized in the meeting. Within this framework, the Ministry aims at the active participation of private sector in R&D activities, the improvement of the TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) activities, effective use of information and communication technologies and the protection of industrial and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). In the document, it is stated that the legislation regarding the industrial and IPRs has been synchronized with the EU legislation to a significant extent. According to the roadmap announced, various activities will be carried out in order to inform and encourage firms regarding patent rights, trademark creation and geographical indications. The institutional framework will thereby be strengthened regarding the industrial property rights. The National Coordination Committee for Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights decided to issue the УNational Industrial and Intellectual Property Rights Strategy Document in their 1st meeting on November 14, 2008 in order for industrial property rights to provide the Turkish industry with high added value, advanced technology and competitive power. WHO, WIPO, WTO to Hold 2nd Technical Symposium On Patents, Access to Medicines GENEVA - World Health Organization (WHO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and World Trade Organization (WTO) will hold a technical symposium on Access to Medicines, Patent Information and Freedom to Operate on 18 February 2011 at the World Health Organization in Geneva. Before this second in a series of joint symposiums, an optional workshop on УPatent searches and freedom to operate will be offered on 17 February 2011, according to the WTO. Limited information on patent status of medical products and related problems for users of such information are frequently raised in policy discussions on access to medicines, including at a recent trilateral Technical Symposium on Access to Medicines: Pricing and Procurement Practices organized jointly by the WHO, WIPO and the WTO in Geneva on July 16, The second of this series of joint symposia will therefore focus on access to medicines, patent information and freedom to operate. It will take place on February 18, 2011 at the WHO headquarters in Geneva. 5

6 China s IP System Deepens IPR Protection Campaigns BEIJING CITY - According to the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) Deputy Commissioner Bao Hong, at a news conference in Beijing on January 12, IP system across the nation has yielded fruitful output in the past three months since the launch of a special campaign on combating IPR infringement and manufacture and sales of counterfeit and inferior quality commodities, 406 patent disputes have been handled and 233 counterfeiting cases were concluded, up 76.52% and 35.47% respectively. In 2010, according to SIPO, Chinese authorities have striven their efforts to carry out the law enforcement campaigns, handled 1,013 patent disputes and concluding 605 counterfeiting cases, up 5.19% and 4.67%. Statistics show that 20,646 officer/times haven been dispatched to inspect commercial establishments for 10,642 times and to examine 2,134,668 commodities, up 55.94%, 76.98% and 61.41% respectively. In addition, they handled three cases transferred by the police and 17 cases transferred by other agencies. They carried out 545 inter-agency and 972 inter-regional law enforcements, up 2.25% and %. Fellowship Application Round Opens for ICANN Public Meeting 41 in Amman MARINA DEL REY, CA - The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is launching the 13th round of the Fellowship program applications for its 41st Public Meeting to be held in Amman, Jordan June 19-24, 2011, according to the Corporation. Priority in selection is given to applicants who are current residents of developing and least developed nations and interested in participating in ICANN and its supporting organizations and constituencies, or are representatives in the Business, Academic and Private sector looking to find support and gain information on how to have their voices heard in the Internet community and ICANN. More information regarding terms and conditions, as well as eligibility is available online at icann.org/en/fellowships/ or at fellowships@icann.org regarding any questions about this process or program. The Fellowship program will assist in covering airfare, hotel and a stipend for those individuals selected to participate in this ICANN meeting. Recipients will be expected to actively participate in and contribute to ICANN processes, both at the meeting and in the future. As always, registration for ICANN s meetings is free for anyone wanting to attend. Applications for the meeting in Jordan will be accepted on January 17, 2011 until February 26, BSA and UAE Ministry of Economy to Conduct Anti-piracy Training for Government Inspectors ABU DHABI - Business Software Alliance (BSA), the world s foremost advocate for the software industry, will be conducting anti-piracy training sessions for inspectors working for the UAE Ministry of Economy (MoE) and other government authorities on January 3, According to Emirates News Agency (WAM), the initiative is aimed at reducing the economic impact of software piracy by combining both education and enforcement strategies. The Ministry includes anti-piracy efforts among its key priorities and looks forward to partnering more with the Business Software Alliance to make our law makers and law enforcers more capable of addressing this crime, said Director of the Censorship Department, UAE Ministry of Economy Abdullah Al Hussain. It is important that inspectors and other key government authorities be taught the proper skills in handling software piracy cases as they ultimately recommend and enforce the appropriate disciplinary actions. Initiatives such as these contribute towards achieving a collaborative approach to the piracy problem, added BSA Chair, Gulf Region Jawad Al Redha. 6

7 aeda Announces Extension for Sunrise Period (dotemarat) ABU DHABI UAE s.ae Domain Name Administration (.aeda), the Regulatory Body and Registry Operator for the.ae domain name has announced that the Sunrise Period for accepting applications based on Trademarks has been extended until end of May This has been based on the requests of registrars as (dotemarat) since public interest is امارات. increasing and shall assist the business community to protect their trademarks. This extension shall provide opportunity for Trademarks owners to be able to register their brands in Arabic and provide more time for awareness and reaching out to Trademark owners for امارات. the Sunrise. About aeda The.aeDA was established in 2007 by the TRA as a department. It is the Regulatory Body and Registry Operator for the.ae domain name. The.aeDA is responsible for the setting and enforcement of all policies with regard to the operation of the.ae cctld as well as overseeing the operation of the Registry System. ITIDA Enforces International Patents Registration Program office to register it as a patent. ITIDA Chief Officer Eng. Yasser Al-Qadi asserted that supporting the Egyptian patents is of a high importance as it directly nurtures the creative ideas which constitute the main pillars of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology strategy, implemented by the TIEC, to increase Egypt share in the intellectual property, in particular, those that could be applied and benefits to be gained out of exporting the same. CAIRO - The Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) enforced the international patents registration program related to the initiative for supporting the research collaboration between the companies and research bodies (Information Technology Academia Collaboration ITAC) by financing the international registration of two patents in the field of advanced mathematics software and cloud computing. According to Al-Ahram Egyptian daily, ITIDA grants donations to finance the international registration of patents filed by researchers by 80% of the actual paid cost, not exceeding 15 thousand US Dollar for each patent, paid after obtaining the primary approval of any internationally recognized patent ITIDA financed the registration of the first patent which relates to a new card with data processor used in computers to accelerate the computing operations of the financial applications used by enterprises, especially the telecoms and banks with large base of clients that transacts huge financial transactions. In addition, ITIDA financed the registration of another patent relating to new technology in the field of cloud computing to give virtual training courses where Cloud Niners for Information System implements applications used in the training field by using the cloud computing technology to create virtual training workshops, and provide the logistic supplies and tools available at the normal training workshops. Moreover, the trainer can follow up the training at any time and place through the Internet. This Bulletin is published by the Editorial Department of 2011 Reproduction is permitted provided that the source is acknowledged. For inquiries: Mrs. Iman Salameh / isalameh@agip.com 7

8 AGIP Offices AFGHANISTAN Kabul Plot #56, Street# 12/2, Qalai-e-Fathullah, Kabul, Afghanistan P.O.Box:13004, Qalai-e-Fathullah, Kabul, Afghanistan Tel.: / Fax: (through Canada) ALGERIA Algeria Centre Commercial et d Affaires(El-Qods) 9th Floor, Office No P.O.Box: 143, Cheraga, Algiers, Algeria Tel.: Fax: algeria@agip.com BAHRAIN Manama TAG-Org Building, 1002 Road 5121 Block: Suwayfiah 351 P.O.Box: 990 Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain Tel.: (+973) Fax: (+973) bahrain@agip.com CHINA Shanghai 702A, 168 YinCheng Middle Road Pudong, Shanghai, China Tel.: ( ) Fax: ( ) china@agip.com Beijing P7, 5/F, China Life Tower, 16 Chaowi Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China china@agip.com Hong Kong SUITE /F, OFFICE TOWER CONVENTION PLAZA, 1 HARBOUR RD WANCHAI, HK china@agip.com CYPRUS Nicosia 24 Gregoriou Xenopoulou Str. Kyza Court, Office Nicosia, Cyprus P.O.Box: 16270, 2087 Nicosia, Cyprus Tel.: Fax No.: cyprus@agip.com EGYPT Cairo TAG Building, A26 Smart Village, Km 28 Cairo/Alex Desert Road P.O.Box: 150 Smart Village 12577, Egypt Tel.: (+ 202) Fax: (+ 202) egypt@agip.com INDIA New Delhi HL Arcade-3rd Floor, Plot No. 14, Sector 5 (MLU) Above AXIS Bank, Dwarka, New Delhi , India Tel.: Fax: india@agip.com IRAQ Baghdad Mahala 712, Zukak, 25, Building 11/2 Al- Muthana District, Zayona, Baghdad, Iraq P.O.Box: (Through the Regional Office) , Amman 11192, Jordan Tel.: ( ) ( ) Mobile: ( ) ( ) Fax: (Through the Regional Office) ( ) iraq@agip.com Erbil Ein Kawa, in front of Siemens Company, Home No.109/237, Kurdistan, Erbil Tel.: ( ) ( ) Fax: ( ) erbil@agip.com Jordan Amman 26, Prince Shaker bin Zaid Street, Shmeisani, Amman P.O.Box: , Amman 11192, Jordan Tel.: ( ) Fax: ( ) jordan@agip.com KUWAIT Kuwait Souk Al Kabir Building, 9th Floor, Block A, Fahed Al Salem Street, Kuwait P.O.Box: 4729, Safat 13048, State of Kuwait Tel.: (00965) Fax: (00965) kuwait@agip.com LEBANON Beirut Sanayeh, Anis Tabbara Street, Halabi Bldg. - 1st Floor Beirut P.O.Box: Beirut, Lebanon Tel.: ( ) Fax: ( ) lebanon@agip.com LIBYA Manama TAG-Org Building, 1002 Road 5121 Block: Suwayfiah 351 P.O.Box: 990 Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain Tel.: (+973) Fax: (+973) bahrain@agip.com MOROCCO Casablanca ESPACE PORTE D ANFA, No. 3 Rue Bab Mansour Casablanca 20050, Kingdom of Morocco P.O.Box: Casa El Hank, Kingdom of Morocco Tel.: ( ) /21/26 Fax: ( ) morocco@agip.com 8

9 AGIP Offices OMAN Muscat P. O.Box: 2366, Postal Code 112 Ruwi, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman Tel : / Fax: oman@agip.com PAKISTAN Karachi Anum Empire 604, 6th Floor, Block 7/8, Shara-e-Faisal, Karachi, Pakistan P.O.Box: Karachi, Pakistan Tel: ( ) /4 Fax: ( ) /6 pakistan@agip.com PALESTINE Gaza Al-Quds Street, Ansar Square, Awkaf Building, 2nd floor, Apartment No. 8+9, Southern Rimal, Gaza, Palestine. P.O.Box: 505 Gaza City, Gaza Strip Tel: ( ) Fax: ( ) gaza@agip.com Ramallah Green Tower Building, Al-Nuzha Street, near Ramallah Public Library P.O.Box: 3800 Al-Beerah, Ramallah, The West Bank Tel: ( ) Fax: ( ) westbank@agip.com QATAR Doha Trans Orient Center Building, Airport Road, Doha P.O.Box: 2620 Doha, State of Qatar Tel: ( ) Fax: ( ) qatar@agip.com SAUDI ARABIA Riyadh King Fahd Road - Olaya District - Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAG-Org) P.O.Box: 9767, Riyadh 11423, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Tel: ( ) Fax: ( ) ksa@agip.com SUDAN Khartoum Sudanese Islamic Bank Bldg., 6th Floor Apartment No.1, Alqaser St., Khartoum, Sudan P.O.Box: 1623 Khartoum, Sudan Tel: (249-1) Fax: (249-1) sudan@agip.com SYRIA Damascus Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization Building Kafersoseh Villas - The Southern Highway P.O.Box: Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic Tel: Fax: syria@agip.com TUNISIA Tunis Appt. B. 3.2, 7 Rue Chott Errommen, Montplaisir, Tunis 1002 P.O.Box: 1, 1073 Montplaisir, Tunis, Tunisia Tel: (00 216) / / / Fax: (00 216) tunisia@agip.com TURKEY Ankara Tunus Cad. No. 15/3, 06680, Kavaklidere, Ankara Tel: ( ) Fax: ( ) turkey@agip.com UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Dubai Mohammed Abdel-Rahman Al-Bahar Building 3rd Floor, Entrance No. II Salah El-Din Al-Ayyoubi Street P.O. Box 1991, Dubai, UAE Tel: /4 Telefax: uae@agip.com Jebel Ali Office No.16127, LOB - 16 P.O.Box: 17191, Jebel Ali, UAE Tel: Telefax: uae@agip.com YEMEN Sana a Beirut Street, Faj Attan, in front of Sudanese Embassy Sana a, Republic of Yemen P.O.Box: 2055 Sana a, Republic of Yemen Tel: Fax: yemen@agip.com 9