Country Data
| Official Name: | The Kingdom of Bahrain |
|---|---|
| Capital: | Manama |
| Area: | 780 sq km |
| Population: | 1,526,929 (2021 estimate) |
| Official Language: | Arabic |
| GDP: | US$78.760 billion (PPP, 2019 estimate) |
| Currency: | Bahraini dinar (BD) |
| Work Days: | Sunday – Thursday |
Conventions/ Treaties
- TRIPS Agreement/ WTO (effective since January 1, 1995)
- WIPO convention (effective since June 22, 1995)
- Berne Convention (effective since March 2, 1997)
- Paris Convention (effective since October 29, 1997)
- Nice Agreement (effective since December 15, 2005)
- Madrid Protocol (effective since December 15, 2005)
- Patent Law Treaty (effective since December 15, 2005)
- WIPO Copyright Treaty (effective since December 15, 2005)
- WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (effective since December 15, 2005)
- Rome Convention (effective since January 18, 2006)
- Trademark Law Treaty (effective since March 18, 2007)
- Patent Cooperation Treaty (effective since March 18, 2007)
- Brussels Convention (effective since May 1, 2007)
- Budapest Treaty (effective since November 20, 2012)
National Legislation
- Trademarks Law of the Gulf Cooperation Council States (Gulf Cooperation Council)
Basic Information
| Creation of rights: | First-to-file jurisdiction (subject to occasional exceptions) |
|---|---|
| Basis for filing: | Intent to use acceptable – prior use is not a prerequisite. |
| Well-known marks: | Special protection may be available. Nevertheless, local registration of the mark is highly recommended. |
| Types of marks: | Trademarks, Service Marks, Certification Marks, Collective Marks; Quality Control Marks |
| Priority: | 6-month priority claim under the Paris Convention |
| Madrid System: | Available – Bahrain is a member of the Madrid Union |
| Filing system: | Single class (multiple class filing is not available) |
| Classification: | Nice Classification 11th edition |
| Who can be Applicant: | (1) Individuals; (2) Corporate entities; (3) Joint application |
| Examination: | On formal, absolute and relative grounds |
| Publication: | In the Trademark Journal – which is an online publication |
| Opposition period: | 60 days from the date of publication |
| Duration of registration: | 10 years from the filing date – renewable for further periods of 10 years each upon request of the trademark owner within one year preceding the expiry date |
| Renewal grace period: | 6 months, subjected to late renewal penalty fee |
| Use requirement: | A trademark registration becomes vulnerable to cancellation upon the request of an interested party in case of non-use of the mark for a period of 5 consecutive years |
| Registration timeframe (straightforward case): | 8 to 10 months (approximately) |
Search
| Official Search: | Available for i) word marks; and ii) device marks |
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| Scope of search: | Includes all applied-for and registered marks, whether national marks or international marks in Bahrain under the Madrid System |
| Turnaround time: | 5 working days |
Ways to obtain protection
- Filing of national application with or without priority claim under the Paris Convention
- Applications under the Madrid System
Filing Requirements
New Applications
- Power of Attorney from the applicant, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
- A certified copy of Certificate of Incorporation, if the applicant is a corporate entity. The document will be required to be duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
- A certified copy of the priority document, if priority is claimed.
Renewal of Registration
- Power of attorney from the trademark owner, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
- A simple copy of certificate of registration of the mark.
Change of Name / Address Recordation
- Power of attorney stating the new name/ address of the trademark owner, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
- Change of Name / Address document, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
Assignment Recordation
- Power of attorney from the Assignee, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
- Deed of Assignment, duly signed by both the assignor and the assignee, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
Merger Recordation
- Power of attorney from the surviving entity, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
- Merger document, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
License Recordation
- Powers of attorney from the Licensor and the Licensee, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
- License agreement, duly signed by both the parties, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
National Legislation
- Law No. 1 of 2004 on Patents and Utility Models as subsequently amended by Law No. 14 of 2006
Ways to obtain patent protection:
- National Filing in Bahrain
- PCT national phase application
Basic Information
| Claims admissible for: | 1) Process; and 2) Product |
|---|---|
| Novelty requirement: | Absolute |
| Convention priority: | Available (12 months) |
| PCT national phase entry deadline: | 30 months |
| Search: | Possible by title, name of the patentee, name of the inventor, abstract, and priority or PCT numbers. |
| Examination: | With respect to form, novelty, inventiveness, industrial applicability, unity, and compliance |
| Publication: | Post-grant publication |
| Opposition period: | 60 days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette |
| Protection term (patent): | 20 years from the filing date and in case of the PCT national phase applications, from the international filing date. |
| Protection term (utility model): | 10 years from filing date |
| Annuity payment: | Becomes due annually on the anniversary of the date of grant. For patents granted under the PCT, annuity payment becomes due on the anniversary of the international filing date and payable after grant. |
| Grace period for late annuity payment: | 6 months with a surcharge |
| Working/ Compulsory License: | If the patent is not fully exploited by the patentee within three years from the date of grant or four years from the filing date, whichever comes later, the patent will be subject to compulsory licensing in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Law. |
| Patent grant timeframe (straightforward case): | 4 to 5 years (approximately) |
Filing Requirements
- Power of Attorney from the applicant, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate;
- Patent specification, claims, drawings (if any), and abstract in English and Arabic;
- Sworn Arabic translation of patent specification, claims, and drawings;
- Certificate of incorporation or excerpt from the commercial register related to the applicant company, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
- Assignment of invention and priority rights, executed by the inventor(s) if the applicant is not the inventor, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
- A duly certified copy of priority document, if priority is claimed (not required for PCT national phase applications), duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
- Certificate of deposit of microorganism culture (if the application is related to microorganisms).
- Documentary proof that the inventor got the genetic resource or traditional knowledge legally (if the application is related to genetic resources or traditional knowledge).
For PCT national phase application in Bahrain, the following items would also be required:
- A copy of International Publication with patent specification, claims, drawings, and abstract;
- A copy of International Search Report and Preliminary Examination Report.
Note: Items 1 and 2 listed above are necessarily required at the time of filing. Item 3 may be submitted within 120 days from the fling date. Items 4 to 8 may be submitted within 90 days from the filing date. For PCT national phase application, items 9 and 10 are also required to be submitted at the time of filing.
National Legislation
- Law No. 6 of 2006 on Industrial Designs and Models
Ways to obtain protection for design:
- National filing in Bahrain
Basic Information
| Types of designs: | (1) Drawings; and (2) models. |
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| Novelty: | Novelty is a prerequisite for the designs to be afforded registration. |
| Multiple figures: | An application may comprise up to 50 drawings or designs provided that they all constitute a unity. |
| Convention priority: | 6-month priority may be claimed. |
| Locarno Classification: | Not applied. |
| Examination: | Industrial design applications are subjected to examination as to form, novelty, and industrial applicability. |
| Publication: | Upon receiving official decision for protection, design applications are published in the Official Gazette. |
| Opposition: | There are no provisions for opposition filing in the law. |
| Protection term: | Protection is granted initially for a 10-year term starting from the date of filing. Upon proprietor’s request during the last year of protection period, the term may be extended for an additional 5-years term. |
| Annuities: | Maintenance of design registration is subject to payment of annuities, falling due every year until the expiry of protection period, on the anniversary of the publication date. |
| Annuity grace period: | A 6-month period without surcharge and another 6-month period with fine. |
| Registration timeframe (straightforward case): | 8 to 10 months (approximately) |
Filing Requirements
- Representations (drawings/ photographs) of the design.
- Power of Attorney from the applicant – duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
- Certificate of incorporation or excerpt from the commercial register related to the applicant company, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
- A duly certified copy of priority document, if priority is claimed, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
National Legislation
- Law No. 22 of 2006 on the Protection of Copyright and Neighboring Rights (as amended up to Law No. 5 of 2014)
Basic Information
Works protected: The copyright protection under the Bahraini Copyright Law specifically covers: books, brochures, articles, leaflets and other written works; computer software whether written in a source language or a machine language; works that are delivered verbally such as lectures, speeches or sermons and the other works of a similar nature; dramatic works, musical dramas, dances, pantomimes and other works created for theatrical performances; musical works that are accompanied or unaccompanied with words; audiovisual works such as cinematographic and TV works; painting works using lines or colors, sculptures, inscriptions, lithograph, printing on fabrics, wood or metals and any other similar works of this nature; works of applied art; photographic works and similar works; illustrations, geographical maps, designs, sketch and 3-D works related to geography, topography, architecture or science; the title of work if it is of a creative nature; derivative works including translations, quotations, musical arrangements and adaptations; collections of works, folkloric expressions such as encyclopedias and selections, databases whether in a readable format from a computer or in any other form, whether such collections of databases are created in terms of the selection or arrangement of their contents.
Exceptions to copyright protection: The following are specifically excluded from copyright protection: abstract ideas, procedures, methods of work, methods of operation and mathematical concepts, principles, discoveries and data; statutes, court judgments, arbitrators’ awards, resolutions issued by administrative committees having judicial competence, international agreements and all official documents as well as the official translations of any of the above; news of current events that may merely be news reports.
Duration of copyright: Copyright protection term is 70 years, starting from the first day of the year following the death of the author, in addition to the lifetime of the author.
Registration timeframe: 1 to 2 months (approximately).
Filing Requirements
- Power of Attorney from the applicant, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate.
- Assignment deed executed by the author in favor of the applicant, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Bahraini Consulate, if the applicant is not the author.
- Three copies of the work.
