Tuesday 31 January 2017

Jordan - summary of Customs recordals

Good friends Saba have published a useful summary of Customs recordals in Jordan in their January 2017 newsletter (available here). They say:

"Border measures are a key tool in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy and a critical element of a successful intellectual property enforcement system. In the scope of the continuous efforts to create competent border enforcement measures and to provide effective protection, recordals in Jordan are available at two different authorities, the General Customs Department and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA). Both work separately, however. ASEZA is only concerned with the shipments that are cleared into the free zone only.

One fundamental premise of the recordation system (other than providing a central registry containing information for recorded trademarks) is that it allows Customs officials to adopt an ex-officio border system. An ex-officio system is different from the standard border system in which a judicial authority orders Customs to detain the infringing shipment after identifying the infringing goods. The key advantage of the ex-officio system is that it allows for prompt and proactive action by Customs officials thus avoiding the delays inherently involved in seeking judicial action. Customs officials are always on the lookout for infringing goods and are thus able to act quickly to confiscate counterfeit and pirated merchandise.

Pursuant to this recordation system, the owner of a trademark registration can apply to the above-mentioned entities requesting recordation. The application should include certain information as required by the applicable policies and must be accompanied by the certificate of registration of the mark and a power of attorney. The Customs will then issue a recordation notice.

The below table lists the required documents for recordal with the General Customs Department and ASEZA:

Recordal with General Customs Department
Recordal with Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA)
• Power of attorney, legalized up to the Jordanian consulate
• Copy of the registration certificate of the trademark to be recorded
• A petition duly executed on behalf of the rights holder
• Brochures or images showing how the genuine trademark is being used
• Power of attorney, legalized up to the Jordanian Consulate
• Copy of the registration certificate of the trademark to be recorded
• Application form
• Brochures or images showing how the genuine trademark is being used
Recordal is valid for the trademark’s protection term, renewable for like periods
Recordal is valid for one year, renewable for like periods

Should you have any questions, or require any additional information, please contact us at news@sabaip.com"

WIPO - PCT Guides - Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria

News from WIPO that these PCT Guides have been updated:

Bahrain - General Information – Annex B (here) - December 2016
Bahrain - Receiving Offices – Annex C (here) - December 2016
Egypt - International Searching Authorities – Annex D (here) - January 2017
Egypt - Receiving Offices – Annex C (here) - November 2016
Iran - Receiving Offices – Annex C (here) - April 2016
Oman - Receiving Offices – Annex C (here) - November 2016
Qatar -General Information – Annex B (here) - November 2016
Qatar - Receiving Offices – Annex C (here) - November 2016
Saudi Arabia - Receiving Offices – Annex C (here) - November 2016
Syria - Receiving Offices – Annex C (here) - November 2016


Jordan - accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty

News from good friends AGIP (by email back in December 2016) that Jordan is to join the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Their announcement reads:

"The Jordanian Council of Ministers, headed by Prime Minister Mr. Hani Al-Mulki approved the accession of Jordan to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The Treaty provides procedural facilitations with a 90 percent discount on the submission fees offered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to Jordan.

The accession of Jordan to the PCT would benefit both local and foreign applicants, which would contribute to the increase of patent applications submitted to the Directorate of Industrial Property Protection, affiliate of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

The Council instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs to deposit the accession documents with the Secretary General of WIPO and authorized the permanent representative of the Kingdom in Geneva to sign the treaty."

Followed this month by news from good friends Saba in their January 2017 newsletter (article here) which reads:

"Pursuant to amending the Patents Law in 2016, the Jordanian Council of Ministers approved the accession of Jordan to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Accordingly, the instrument of accession is being prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Supply and will be signed on behalf of the government of Jordan and submitted at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

During the transitional period into becoming a member of the PCT, the Ministry concerned will raise awareness to familiarize all stakeholders with the Treaty. We expect further developments and news in this area that should clarify the direct benefits of Jordan’s upcoming accession to the PCT.

Should you have any questions, or require any additional information, please contact us at news@sabaip.com"