intellectual property law in Qatar

Many entrepreneurs are looking at Qatar as a good destination to run their businesses, since it boasts many advantages such as an extremely-growing economy and a high safety rate, making it a sought-after beacon for businessmen willing to establish their startups here.

However, they might be hindered by some concerns about the rights of intellectual property in Qatar, and what process they’ve to go through to register and protect their IP. Whether their trademarks are in alignment with Qatari laws and what they should do in case they face IP infringement

No just entrepreneurs, but also artists, performs, and authors who want to ensure their creative works are well-protected and no one can claim it or stripping them of their financial and moral gains.

In this article, we’ll show the laws of intellectual property law in Qatar as well as the registration process and protection period entitled for the author or company, along with other details.

According to recent statistics, Qatar’s Intellectual Property index has scored 5.474 in 2022, as the previous year, making it rank 26th on the global scale and 3rd in the middle east and north Africa region.

Qatar isn’t a member of the world intellectual property organization (WIPO) nor does it belong to the Paris Convention for the protection of intellectual property.So, person willing to register their trademarks and copyrights or innovators have to comply with Qatar’s national laws and regulations for the protection, which will discuss later in detail

Intellectual property rights Qatar

Intellectual property is a broad term that refers to all forms of creations of minds such a literary and artistic works, logos, innovations, and trade name. protecting those works is necessary to balance the interest of innovators and the public and build up a safe environment where creativity can thrive.

For the article, we’ll categorize intellectual rights in Qatar into two specific groups. In the first group, the rights of the copyright and neighboring rights while the second group includes trademarks, industrial designs, and patents. We’ll show the laws about each right generally, so let’s keep reading.

Laws of Copyright and neighboring rights in Qatar

Copyright is a legal endorsement that protects the author’s original work and enables him to benefit morally and economically from it for a limited time.

According to No. 7 of 2002 on the Protection of Copyright and Related Rights, .protection is conferred to the author of literary and artistic works, irrespective of the value, quality, purpose, or mode of expression of these works
Copyrights include many forms of creative works, like books, novels, poetry, paintings, designs, architectures & other artistic works, audio and theatre works, software and mobile applications, and musical works
No work shall be published, displayed, or viewed to the public unless accompanied by a certificate or the author’s origin and a declaration by the owner or the importer specifying the regions where the works are circulated
Authors are authorized to benefit from their creative works economically by reproducing their work, translating it to various languages, making excerpts or other transformations of it, renting it to the public as well as a public performance, and communicating the work to the public.
If the author is willing to grant his economic rights to an assignee, it shall be in writing, with a separate specification for each right, the duration of the transfer, its manner and quantity, the purpose, and the place.
The author mustn’t intervene or do any act that prevents the assignee from practicing his rights, however, he is still entitled to withdraw his work from publication, and make any amendment to it. In case of dispute, the author shall pay fair compensation to the assignee.
The author is entitled to benefit from his work morally in many forms including, determining whether his name or pseudonym is labeled on his work or not and opposing any amendment made to his work without his permission, and Prohibiting any exploitation of the work that may affect his reputation negatively
The economic rights of the author shall be protected during his life and for 50 years after his death (In case of joint work, the protection period shall continue until the death of the last survivor co-author), while the moral rights shall be perpetual and transferable by inheritance after the Author’s death or transferred to the competent ministry in case there is no inheritor.
Many acts are authorized to the public and aren’t deemed as an infringement to the author’s copyrights, including using the work as a way of illustration for teaching, citing paragraphs for the purpose of illustration, reproducing it in newspaper or periodical with an indication to the source and the name of the author.

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Neighboring rights

They refer to the rights granted to certain persons or entities, such as performers, producers of sound recording, and broadcasting originations in exchange for their contribution to making their works available to the public

Performers are entitled to enjoy many rights, such as recognition for their performance, and protection against any sort of distortion or adjustment that’d affect their reputation negatively as well as preventing fixation or recording of their live performance without their consent or using it to achieve economic gains (whether by renting or distributing it to the public).
Producers’ sound recordings’ve the exclusive right to pass or prohibit reproduction of their work, rent, or sell it to the public.

Copyright & neighboring right registration.

Before registering the original work, the owner should undergo an examination to ensure the work is original and doesn’t fall into the excluded works set in article 4 in article 4 of Law No. 7 of 2002 on the Protection of Copyright and Neighboring Rights 2002: such as laws, legal provisions, administrative decisions, daily news, ideas, procedures, and mathematical concepts.

For registering a copyright for his work, the author should submit the following

Copy of the work (Word/PDF)
Softcopy of applications/software’s source code Demo video of applications/softwares
Detailed description of the work
Artistic works should include a copy of the electronic/hand-drawn design
Artistic works should include measurements (such as packaging design, architecture… etc.)
multiple artistic works may be filed in one application (such as jewelry set, storybook characters… etc.)
Filling out the application form (available at MOCI website)
Copy of the commercial registration
Copy of the owner’s ID

The fees required for registration is 800 QR per work (300 QR Registration + 500 QR Certificate Issuance)

Industrial properties laws in Qatar

The following articles are excepted from law No. 7 of 2002 with respect to Trademarks, Trade Indications, Trade names, Geographical Indications, and Industrial Designs and Templates, taking into consideration that foreigners, by article 4 of this law are granted the same rights as nationals of the State of Qatar, provided that they are nationals of or residents in states that grant the nationals of and residents in Qatar reciprocal treatment.

Article 2 allows trademarks of any distinctive form, including words, letters, symbols, a variety of colors, or a combination of thereof, etc.

Article 8 prohibits many forms of trademarks, including

signs that are void of any distinctive form
signs which in collision with the mortality or public order
public elements, and flag that relates to a country or international organization unless approved by the respective authority
symbols which are similar to the red crescent or red cross
Signs that might deceive the public or contain wrong information about the product’s origin or features.
Signs that bear resemblance to religious symbols
Signs that might confuse the public whether by their similarity to a registered trademark, or being widely famous to the public though its company is not registered in Qatar.
Signs of honorary distinctions that have no reasoning justification.

Trademark registration

For registering the trademark, the owner should submit the following

Fill application form
Copy of the Commercial Register
Copy of the Trademark.
Copy of applicant’s ID.
Authorization of agent (if applicable).

Application fees required for registration are 1000 QRL for single marks and 1500 QAR for a group of marks.

The IPAS (Industrial Property Administration System) system is used to examine marks and come out with a final decision which can be rejection, acceptance with imposed restriction, or acceptance.

The applicant will be notified of this decision by the office with a registered email within a period of 30 days

Acceptance

rejection

Acceptance with restriction

In case of acceptance, the applicant shall publicize the mark in the Gazette and pay the required fees of 325 QAR

In case of any concerns, the applicant should submit to the office a notice in writing that explains the reasons for his opposition for registration in a period of 4 months after the mark is publicized

If no issues arise, the mark shall be registered and recorded in the registry. The registration shall have effect as from the date of filing the application

Upon registering the mark, a certificate of the mark is issued.

If the applicant fails to comply with the requirement demanded by the office within 6 months of receiving notification, his application will be deemed null.

If the applicant is willing to appeal against the decision of the office, he should do so within a period of 60 days after receiving notification. The appeal then will be judged by a committee by a resolution of the Minister which shall consist of three members under the chairmanship of a judge.

If the applicant is willing to appeal against the decision of the committee, he should do so within a period of 60 days after the decision. The appeal then will be judged by the relevant civil court.

The duration of the protection of a mark shall be ten years from the date of filing the application for registration
The owner has a right to renew his application and pay 2025 QAR within the course of the final year of the current protection period
For renewal for the second time, the owner should pay 5025 QR within the course of 6 months after the current protection period
A mark that has not been renewed cannot be registered by a third party until at least 3 years have passed.

Patent law in Qatar

Patent is a document granted to the creator to allow him for financial and moral exploitation of his creative works. Below are some of the articles of patent laws in Qatar excerpted from Decree Law No, (30) for the Year 2006 To Issue Patents’ Law

For getting patented, innovations should be new, implies an innovative step, and have industrial applicability.
In case of applying for more than one innovation, the priority shall be given to the first to be applied for
In case of joint innovations, each party has an equal right of the patent unless otherwise agreed

Excluded from obtaining a patent are scientific theories, mathematical methods, computer programs, plant and animals researches, Diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical methods for treating humans and animals
Patent registration application shall be submitted to the office of the patent in the ministry by the inventor, his/her authorized agent or assignee, under the terms and conditions prescribed by patent law in Qatar.
The applicant can withdraw his application any time before the final decision, however, he isn’t entitled to receive documents or refunding of any fees.
During the examination process, the office may request all necessary documents required for patent granting
In case of refusal, The applicant is entitled to appeal against the office within fifteen days of being notified, the appeal will be judged by a committee whose members are decided by the minister
The Committee’s decision shall only be irrevocable after being approved by the Minister in accordance with the provisions of the executive
The office, in case of patent acceptance, shall register and declare it in the manner identified by the executive
The patent shall bear registration number and issue date in addition to other details as specified by the executive
The protection term for the term shall continue for 20 years starting from filing the application
The patent holders are allowed for many forms of exploitation, including making and selling his innovation.
No one has the right to exploit the patented innovation without written permission from the owner.
Patent ownership and all its rights shall descend to the legitimate successors unless otherwise waived
Patent owner can give a written license to other parties for exploitation rights of his innovation without depriving him of exploiting it on his/her own, or granting another license on the same patent unless the contract states otherwise.

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Why choose Baianat intellectual property ?

Bianat IS One of the leading companies with a rich history in intellectual property since 1964 and has established 25 offices in 17 countries.

Guided by competent professional team versed in protecting your legal rights, they’ll guide you through registering your trademarks, patents, or any type of intellectual property, no matter what sector you’re jumping in.

They’ll, do their best to understand your needs and then devise the best solutions and practical purposeful strategies to ensure your business is on strong legal ground.