The aim of these articles is to keep our Clients and Associates updated about developments in the sector of Intellectual Property in general and our firm in particular. In this way, we wish to provide a broader view of the tools that the field of trade marks, domain names, patents, designs and related rights offers to entrepreneurs to enhance and protect their efforts in researching and developing new solutions and ideas.
BAHRAIN AND THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Accession to the Locarno Agreement
A significant procedural development is taking place in the field of industrial property protection in the Gulf region: the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have officially acceded to the Locarno Agreement, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which establishes an international classification system for industrial designs.
In the past, the descriptions provided at the time of filing design applications before the patent and trade mark offices of these two countries frequently required adjustments to comply with local requirements. The adoption of the standard Locarno Classification codes is expected to reduce the risk of formal objections or refusals on classification-related grounds.
Furthermore, as the classification codes now correspond to those used across key markets, including the United States, the European Union and Asian jurisdictions, design filings in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates will be more readily identifiable and searchable through WIPO’s Global Design Database.
These accessions are therefore expected to facilitate cross-border design filing strategies, providing design owners with greater consistency and efficiency when seeking protection across multiple jurisdictions.