1 TAG-Legal tag-legal.com. June 2016 Issue 89

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1 June 2016 Issue 89 UAE Ministry of Economy Extends Deadline to Comply with Companies Law. Cease and Desist Letters Mandatory in Russia Before Infringement Lawsuits. 1 TAG-Legal tag-legal.com

2 IN THIS ISSUE 3 UAE Ministry of Economy Extends Deadline to Comply with Companies Law 7 Increase in Trademarks Fees in Bahrain 4 Cease and Desist Letters Mandatory in Russia Before Infringement Lawsuits 8 Increase in Trademarks and Designs Fees in Syria 5 Kuwait Officially Joins the PCT 9 Mohammed bin Rashid Issues Law Regulating the Granting of Law Enforcement Capacity in Dubai 6 Yemen Ends Use of Class Heading for Trademark Applications 10 TAG-Legal Takes Role in Notre Dame University s Law Internship 2 TAG-Legal tag-legal.com

3 UAE Ministry of Economy Extends Deadline to Comply with Companies Law ABU DHABI - The UAE s Ministry of Economy has recently approved a new amendment to the newly-issued Federal Law No. 2 of 2015 on Commercial Companies to extend the provided period for existing companies to comply with the law by one year. The Companies law has granted companies in UAE until the end of June 2016 to amend their companies legal structure and Memorandum of Association (MOA) in compliance with the law; however, this period has now been extended, starting July 1, 2016 and ending June 30, As per Article 357, any company failing to amend its MOA in consistence with the new Federal Law shall be fined an amount of AED 2,000 per day of delay calculated from the day following the expiration date of the extended period. Article 374/2 stipulates that if a company fails to comply with the Provisions of this law within one year starting from July 1, 2016, it shall be deemed as dissolved. For further inquiries and assistance, you may contact our office in UAE at: uae@tag-legal.com Source: TAG-Legal News 3 TAG-Legal tag-legal.com

4 Cease and Desist Letters Mandatory in Russia Before Infringement Lawsuits MOSCOW- Russia has recently amended regulations governing the procedures in the economic courts. As a result, as of June 1, 2016, the claimants have to first submit a cease and desist letter, i.e. apply the out-of-court procedure, and then wait for 30 days before filing a court action. Prior to this change, cease and desist letters were not mandatory before initiating infringement proceedings, while under this amendments now, if a claimant files a court action without sending out a cease and desist letter or before the 30-day period expires, the court action will not be considered. This may complicate certain matters, for instance in domain name disputes, in order to send a cease and desist letter, claimant needs to obtain the domain name owner s personal information and most registrars refuse to disclose their clients personal data. Even if one succeeds in obtaining this information and sent out a cease and desist letter the domain name owner can transfer the ownership of the domain to another party immediately after receiving the letter. Although this amendment aims at reducing the total number of court cases, this new requirement may make it more difficult to enforce IP rights in Russia and even help infringers in avoiding punishment. The new procedure applies to all IP matters with the exception of non-use cancellation actions. Source: Petosevic.com [*This article was written by Tatyana Kulikova] 4 TAG-Legal tag-legal.com

5 Kuwait Officially Joins the PCT KUWAIT CITY Kuwait s Permanent Representative to UN and International Organizations in Geneva, Ambassador Jamal Al-Ghunaim, announced that Kuwait has officially joined the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), after he handed over the country s PCT instrument to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Director General, Francis Gurry. Joining the PCT enables Kuwait to register international patents through the national offices of the state members. The PCT system is considered more cost effective than filing separate national or regional applications. The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international patent law treaty which was concluded in 1970 to provide a unified procedure for filing patent applications that helps in protecting patented inventions in each of the contracting states. Source: AGIP s official website (Agip.com) 5 TAG-Legal tag-legal.com

6 Yemen Ends Use of Class Heading for Trademark Applications SANAA Based on the Ministerial Decision No. 239 of 2011, the General Department for Intellectual Property Protection in Yemen has issued recently a public notice related to the use of class heading in trademark applications. According to the notice, the use of class heading in the trademark applications will no longer be an accepted practice. Trademark applications with class heading will be refused, and the applicant should specify the goods/ services for which registration is sought. This new regulation entered into force in Yemen on June 6, 2016 Source: AGIP s official website (Agip.com) 6 TAG-Legal tag-legal.com

7 Increase in Trademarks Fees in Bahrain MANAMA The Ministry of Industry and Commerce in Bahrain has issued Decision No. 65 of 2016 related to the GCC implementing regulations for Trademarks Law. According to the Decision, the trademarks official fees were increased dramatically (Around 500%), as of May 26, In light of this increase, AGIP will amend its schedule of charges and post the newly modified fees at its website. Source: AGIP s official website (Agip.com) 7 TAG-Legal tag-legal.com

8 Increase in Trademarks and Designs Fees in Syria DAMASCUS The Syrian Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection issued a Ministerial Decision No of 2016 regarding the increase in official fees of trademarks and designs in Syria. The decision was published at the Official Gazette, and entered into force on May 22, According to this decision, the fees increase will be applied to search, publication and administrative fees of the application forms of the designs and trademarks to include all the recordals (such as assignment, changes etc.), as well as retroactively to those applications, which relevant first or second publication fees have not been paid yet. In light of this increase, AGIP will amend its schedule of charges related to trademarks and designs services offered in Syria, and its newly modified fees will be posted at AGIP website. Source: AGIP s official website (Agip.com) 8 TAG-Legal tag-legal.com

9 Mohammed bin Rashid Issues Law Regulating the Granting of Law Enforcement Capacity in Dubai DUBAI In his capacity as Ruler of Dubai, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has issued Law No. (8) of the year 2016 regulating the granting of law enforcement capacity in the emirate of Dubai. The law will ensure proper implementation of legislations by those granted law enforcement capacity as well as enhance public-private partnerships in the management of public facilities in Dubai. The law further aims to provide training to people who are granted law enforcement capacity as well as regulate partnerships with the private sector regarding the granting of such capacity. The law specifies the government entities that are covered by this law, including government departments, public institutions, councils and authorities including those governing free zones such as the Dubai International Financial Centre. The provisions of the law shall apply to employees of government entities and private companies and institutions that are granted law enforcement capacity, with the exception of members of the judiciary and police officers. The law stipulates that the granting and revocation of law enforcement capacity will be decided by the Director General of a government entity, in coordination with the Supreme Legislation Committee of Dubai. This ensures proper monitoring of violations of local legislation. The law further details the conditions for granting law enforcement capacity to employees. It also outlines the responsibilities of those granted such capacity and the procedures for identifying violations, grievance mechanisms and issuance of executive decisions. The law annuls any other legislation that contradicts the provisions of the current law. The new law will be published in the official gazette and is effective from the date of its publication. Source: WAM/MMYS (Emirates News Agency) official website 9 TAG-Legal tag-legal.com

10 TAG-Legal Takes Role in Notre Dame University s Law Internship BIERUT- As part of TAG-Legal s continuous efforts to enhance the protection of Intellectual Property in the region, our IP expert and lawyer, Ms. Aline Matta, has provided training recently at Notre Dame University (NDU) for its law interns in the field of Intellectual Property. The three-month law internship, which was organized by the university, gathered top students who aspire to become experts in the field due to their awareness of the importance of reinforcing innovators rights. Ms. Matta has provided students through her wide experience with theoretical and practical training on the regulating laws and modern methods and techniques used for protecting Intellectual Property. TAG-Legal was chosen by the university as a highly reputable institution in the field and for its highly qualified lawyers who are always willing to share their knowledge and expertise. At the end of the program, a total of 14 students received certificates and the NDU has extended its gratitude to TAG-Legal for its cooperation and exerted efforts. Source: TAG-Legal News 10 TAG-Legal tag-legal.com

11 Where We Operate General Administration Abu Dhabi, UAE Algeria, Algeria Amman, Jordan Beirut, Lebanon Cairo, Egypt Damascus, Syria Casablanca, Morocco Doha, Qatar Dubai, UAE Jebel Ali Free Zone Area, UAE Jeddah, KSA Kabul, Afghanistan Karachi, Pakistan Khartoum, Sudan Kuwait City, Kuwait Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain Moscow, Russia Muscat, Oman New Delhi, India Nicosia, Cyprus Ramallah, Palestine Riyadh, KSA Sana a, Yemen Shanghai, China Tunis, Tunisia This Newsletter is Published by the Quality Control Department of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Legal (TAG-Legal) Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Legal 2016 Reproduction is permitted provided that the source is acknowledged. For inquiries: Quality Control Department Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Legal (TAGLegal) / quality.legal@tag-legal.com 11 TAG-Legal tag-legal.com

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