GCC Supreme Council Approves Amended GCC Patent Law
This is to advise that, in their 41st Session of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) “Sultan Qabus and Sheikh Sabah Summit” held on 5 January 2021 by the GCC Leaders, The Supreme Council approved the amended GCC Patent Law, in which they decided to stop accepting new patent application filings as of 6 January 2021. However, the Complete Decision has not been revealed to the public yet.
Consequently, for future patent applications targeting the GCC Countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE), we would recommend filing separate application(s) in each country. Either under the provisions of the Paris Convention; or under the PCT Scheme. We are following up the matter closely with the officials at the GCC Patent Office with regard to the new amendments in order to verify the matter, and to know the anticipated mechanism for handling the pending applications, and will update you timely.
Should you have any questions or need any assistance please feel free to contact us at saudi@baianat-ip.com