Pending Trademarks applicationNo. 50000-72000 in Iraq
Background
Theold procedure of registration of trademarks in Iraq by filing application atfirst & the examination take long time because of the Iraqi TrademarkOffice decided to carry out the examination and publication procedures inchronological order giving priority to old applications.
At the beginning of2016, Mr. Ala Mousa Ali assumed the position of trademark registrar since 1st of March 2016, decided to amend the procedure of registrationof trademarks by filing search application at first & as a mandatorilyfor new applications. So that the procedure of registration trademarks becameas in below:
1. Filingsearch application (to check if the trademark is available for registration ornot)
2. If the search result revealed that, thetrademark is available for registration in required sub-classes in Iraq, afterthat it will be able to proceed to other stages which is:
- Filing.
- Publication
- Issuance the Certificate of Trademark registration. After publication date,there are 90 days as opposition period, in absence of opposition thecertificate of registration issued.
However, theexamination and publication procedures for pending applications continue inchronological order but in very slow.
Recently theRegistrar maintained his decision to discontinue prosecution for all pendingtrademark applications filed prior to his appointment despite several negotiationsand meetings to change this decision.
After several rounds of negotiations with theRegistrar, he finally insisted that all applicants must re-file theirapplications if they wish to maintain their rights because the previously filedapplications were not processed with a request for examination.
Please note that to register a trademark in Iraq, itis obligatory to lodge a request for examination for trademarks before filingan application. If the examination result is positive, applicants may submit anapplication for registration accompanied with the examination report where theapplication will then be accepted and proceed to publication immediately.
An applicant can relate the re-filed application basedon its older pending application in order to protect its right of ownershipagainst applications filed during the period that falls between the originalapplication date and the newly re-filed application date by third parties.
Please note that the above decision was made orallyand there is no written decree for that matter, and this will be effective onapplication numbers between 50,000 and 72,000.
Also, what happened recently that if any applicant filing searchapplication for example TM ( X ) & the search result revealed that there'reidentical application TM (X) filed in the past but is pending application theregistrar will notify the applicant ( the owner of pending application) tofiling search application according to new procedure within one week otherwise,the applicant shall be deemed to have abandoned the application the applicationwill be canceled officially . The approval will give to new applicant.
For more information, please contact us info@dela-ip.iq