The start of a new era - Gulf Cooperation Council Trade Mark Law implemented in Kuwait

Analysis

After almost 30 years of waiting, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Trade Mark Law has been implemented, and is now in force in one of the GCC member states - Kuwait. Further news is awaited in the other GCC states of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The trigger for the implementation of the GCC Trade Mark Law in Kuwait has been the publication of Kuwait Ministerial Decision No. 500/2015 which approved the Implementing Regulations for Kuwait Law No. 13/2015 and which, in turn, ratified the GCC Trade Mark Law. Kuwait Ministerial Decision No. 500/2015 was published on 27 December 2015, with the effect that the Implementing Regulations came into force in Kuwait on 28 December 2015.

The impact of the Implementing Regulations

Until now, the Implementing Regulations to the GCC Trade Mark Law have not been publically available. These Implementing Regulations will have an impact in all the GCC states including, most immediately, in Kuwait. Some of the key changes under the Implementing Regulations are as follows:

• An increase in official fees