Bahrain Trademark Service Charges

Requirements:-

Filing Requirements

Trademark/Service Mark/ Collective Mark Applications

  1. A signed Power of Attorney, notarized and legalized up to Bahrain or any other Arab Consulate, (original required by mail).
  2. A certified copy of the home registration or any foreign registration of the trademark (except from boycotted countries). If the registration certificate is not available, one of the following documents can be used, provided that the specifications of goods or the line of activity of the applicant is stated thereon and that these are legalized up to the Consulate of Bahrain or any other Arab consulate in the country of the applicant:
  3. A certificate of incorporation of the applicant company.
  4. A certificate issued by the Registrar of Companies.
  5. An extract of the entry of the applicant company in the Commercial Register.
  6. A certificate issued by the Chamber of Commerce.
  7. The full name, address, nationality and profession of the applicant.
  8. A list of the goods to be covered by the application, in no more than 6 lines.
  9. Eight prints of the mark, if it is a device mark.

Renewal of Trademark/Service Mark Registrations

  1. A signed Power of Attorney, notarized and legalized up to Bahrain or any other Arab Consulate, (original required by mail).
  2. The number and date of the registered trademark/service mark.

Assignment Applications

  1. A signed Power of Attorney, notarized and legalized up to Bahrain or any other Arab Consulate, (original required by mail).
  2. A duly legalized deed of assignment signed by the assignor and the assignee.

Change of Name/Address Applications

  1. A signed Power of Attorney, notarized and legalized up to Bahrain or any other Arab Consulate, (original required by mail).
  2. A letter from the proprietors addressed to the Registrar of Trademarks in Bahrain stating their request to effect the change of name or address.

Registered User Applications

  1. A signed Power of Attorney, notarized and legalized up to Bahrain or any other Arab Consulate, (original required by mail).
  2. A simply signed Power of Attorney by the original owners of the trademark, stamped with the company’s seal.
  3. A license agreement or a registered user agreement duly legalized.

Amendment Applications

  1. A letter from the proprietors addressed to the Registrar of Trademarks in Bahrain stating their request to effect the amendment.
  2. Five prints of the amended trademark/service mark, if it relates to the amendment of the shape of the mark.

Note: Amendment of the specification of goods and/or services is possible only by deletion and not by addition.

Agency Agreement Applications

  1. A Power of Attorney legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
  2. An Agency Agreement executed by the Principal and the Agent, legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.

Summary

The Kingdom of Bahrain is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. Starting June 2007, claiming priority has become possible.

The International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks under the Nice Agreement is followed in Bahrain and the revision of class 42 with the creation of classes 43 to 45 has been adopted as of July 1, 2005.

A separate application is to be filed for each class of goods or services. Once a trade/service mark application is filed, the trademark is examined as to its registrability. Trademark applications accepted by the Registrar are published in the Official Gazette. There is a 60-day period open for filing an opposition by any interested party.

An opposition to the registration of a trademark should be prosecuted before the Registrar by an authorized agent or the proprietors themselves

within the prescribed period as of the date of publication. Such an opposition case should be settled by the Registrar. In the absence of an opposition, a published trademark is registered, and the certificate of registration will be issued.

Trademark rights are acquired by registration. However, a trademark application can be opposed successfully upon producing sufficient proof of the

prior use of the mark in Bahrain and elsewhere in the world.

A trademark registration is valid for 10 years as of the date of filing the application, and it can be renewed for periods of 10 years each. The trademark law provides for a 3-month grace period for late renewal of a trademark. If a trademark is not renewed, the law does not allow third parties to register the trademark, unless after the lapse of 3 years from the date of cancellation.

The assignment and the authorized user of a trademark can be recorded once the trademark is registered. Such a recordal is published in the Official Gazette. The assignment of a trademark can be accepted only with the goodwill and the business’ concern together. All other changes can be recorded after the registration of a trademark.

Use of trademarks in Bahrain is not compulsory, neither for filing applications for registration nor for maintaining trademark registrations in force. However, a trademark is subject to cancellation by any interested party, who can establish that the trademark has not been actually used during the 5 years preceding the application for cancellation, or that there was no bona fide intention of using the trademark on the goods in respect of which the trademark was registered.

Unauthorized use of a trademark registered under the law or an imitation of such trademark applied on goods of the same class, or sale, storing for the purpose of sale, or exhibiting for sale of goods bearing a counterfeit mark, or using a mark duly registered under the law by another person to serve the purpose of unauthorized promotion of goods of the same class, are offenses penalized under the law in Bahrain.

T1: How long will it take to conduct a trademark search?

– Five or six working days.

T2: Does Bahrain use the international classification?

– Yes. The 9th edition of NICE International Classification of Goods & Services.

T3: Are there any goods or services for which the mark cannot be registered?

No.

T4: Does the specification of goods in any class limit the protection to the specified goods, or does it give additional protection to all the goods in the class?

It gives protection to all goods in the class.

T5: Can a trademark be registered in the name of more than one applicant ( i.e. joint application) ? If so, what are its requirements?

It is possible to register a trademark jointly in the names of more than one applicant. The requirements are the same as in the case of a single

applicant.

T6: Can an application be filed without its complete documents?

No.

T7: Can one application cover more than one class of goods/services?

No. A separate application must be filed for each class of goods or services.

T8: May priority be claimed under the Paris Convention?

Yes, Bahrain is a member of the Paris Convention since October 29, 1996.

T9: What is the term of protection of a trademark? From what date is it calculated?

10 years as of the filing date.

T10: Is marking compulsory?

No.

T11: In case a trademark is not renewed in due time, and another company register the same trademark, can the original owner oppose that registration?

Yes. A third party cannot register the same trademark unless after the lapse of three years of the date of cancellation of the registration of the

original owner.

T12: If the trademark had been filed incorrectly, what documentation would be required to amend the official register to show the correct details?

A letter from the owner to the Industrial Property Office requesting for the amendment. However, amendment of a mark is only possible before

examination of the application.

T16: Can the assignment of an application be recorded?

Yes, but only registered marks can be assigned.

T15: What are the types of use required?

– The law does not provide for the types of use required. However, in cases of disputes the following are considered as ‘use’:

* The actual use of the mark on the goods and promotional materials.

* Advertisement in the newspapers and publications.

* Evidences of import or export of goods bearing the mark, like invoices and shipping documents.

T14: Is use of the trademark on one item sufficient to maintain the protection for all the goods covered by the registration?

Yes.

T13: Is use required before registration or for maintaining the registration in force?

Use of a mark is not required for filing a trademark or for maintaining a trademark registration in force. However, a mark is vulnerable to cancellation if a third party can establish that the mark was not seriously used for 5 years in a particular class of goods or services, unless the owner provides a justification for non-use.

T17: Is recording a license agreement compulsory? What are the consequences of non-recordal?

Recording a license is not compulsory but highly recommended in order to protect the rights of the owner of the trademark. An agreement is not

valid or enforceable against third parties if it is not recorded.

T20: Can the trademark application be opposed and what is the opposition period?

Yes. 60 days as of the date of publication in the Official Gazette

T19: Can an assignment be made with or without the goodwill? What monetary consideration is to be mentioned as the value of the assignment? Is there any tax based on the value mentioned?

An assignment must be made with goodwill. Consideration must be stated but a nominal amount of US$1 is acceptable. No tax is applicable.

T18: Can recordals such as change of name, address, merger, assignment, license, etc., be made against pending applications?

No.