Country Data
| Official Name: | Sultanate of Oman |
|---|---|
| Capital: | Muscat |
| Area: | 309,500 sq km |
| Population: | 4,975,000 (2019 estimate) |
| Official Language: | Arabic |
| GDP: | US$135.814 billion (PPP, 2019 estimate) |
| Currency: | Omani Rial |
| Work Days: | Sunday – Thursday |
Conventions/ Treaties
- Nairobi Treaty (effective since March 26, 1986)
- WIPO convention (effective since February 19, 1997)
- Berne Convention (effective since July 14, 1999)
- Paris Convention (effective since July 14, 1999)
- World Trade Organization/ TRIPS (effective since November 9, 2000)
- Patent Cooperation Treaty (effective since October 26, 2001)
- WIPO Copyright Treaty (effective since September 20, 2005)
- WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (effective since September 20, 2005)
- Madrid Protocol (effective since October 16, 2007)
- Patent Law Treaty (effective since October 16, 2007)
- Trademark Law Treaty (effective since October 16, 2007)
- Budapest Treaty (effective since October 16, 2007)
- Brussels Convention (effective since March 18, 2008)
- Hague Agreement (effective since March 4, 2009)
- UPOV Convention (effective since November 22, 2009)
- Hague Apostille Convention (effective since January 30, 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 |
| Priority: | 6-month priority claim under the Paris Convention |
| Madrid System: | Available – Oman is a member of the Madrid Union |
| Filing system: | Single class (multiple class filing is not available). Does not provide protection of trademarks in class 33, alcoholic goods in class 32, and pork meat in class 29. |
| Classification: | Nice Classification 11th edition |
| Who can be Applicant: | (1) Corporate/ business entities and (2) individuals/ natural persons. |
| Examination: | On formal, absolute and relative grounds |
| Publication: | Official Gazette |
| 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 |
|---|---|
| Scope of search: | Includes all applied-for and registered marks, whether national marks or international marks |
| 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
Documentary Requirements
New Applications
- Power of Attorney from the applicant – duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Omani Consulate.
- A simple copy of Certificate of Incorporation or an Excerpt from the Commercial Register.
- A certified copy of priority document, if priority is claimed.
Renewal of Registration
- Power of attorney from the trademark owner – duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Omani 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 Omani Consulate.
- Change of Name / Address document – duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Omani consulate.
Assignment Recordation
- Power of attorney from the Assignee – duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Omani Consulate.
- Deed of Assignment signed by both the assignor and the assignee – duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Omani Consulate.
- A simple copy of Certificate of Incorporation of the assignee or an Excerpt from the Commercial Register relating thereto.
Merger Recordation
- Power of attorney from the surviving entity – duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Omani Consulate.
- Merger document – duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Omani consulate.
- A simple copy of Certificate of Incorporation of the surviving entity or an Excerpt from the Commercial Register relating thereto.
License Recordation
- Powers of attorney from the Licensor and the Licensee – duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Omani consulate.
- License agreement signed by both the parties – duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Omani Consulate.
- A simple copy of Certificate of Incorporation of the licensee or an Excerpt from the Commercial Register relating thereto.
National Legislation
- Law on Industrial Property Rights (promulgated by the Royal Decree No. 67/2008)
Ways to obtain patent protection:
- National Filing in Oman
- PCT national phase application
Basic Information
| Claims admissible for: | 1) Process; 2) Product; and 3) Plant variety |
|---|---|
| Novelty requirement: | Absolute |
| Convention priority: | Available (12 months) |
| PCT national phase entry deadline: | 30 months |
| Search: | Possible by title and name of the patentee. |
| Examination: | With respect to form, novelty, inventiveness, industrial applicability, unity, and compliance |
| Publication: | After substantive examination and prior to grant |
| Opposition period: | 120 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 filing date and payable prior to grant. For patents granted under the PCT, annuity payment becomes due on the anniversary of the international filing date and payable prior to 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 Omani Consulate;
- Patent specification, claims, drawings (if any), and abstract in English and Arabic;
- A simple copy of Certificate of Incorporation of the applicant or an Excerpt from the Commercial Register relating thereto.
- 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 Omani 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 Omani Consulate.
For PCT national phase application in Oman, 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: Item 1 can be submitted within 60 days from the date of filing the application in Oman, whereas, items 3,4, and 5 may be submitted within 90 days from the filing date with a surcharge.
National Legislation
- Law on Industrial Property Rights (promulgated by the Royal Decree No. 67/2008
Ways to obtain protection for design:
- National filing in Oman
Basic Information
| Types of designs: | (1) Drawings; and (2) models. |
|---|---|
| Novelty: | Novelty is a prerequisite for the designs to be afforded registration. |
| Multiple figures: | An application may comprise up to 100 designs provided they relate to the same class of the International Classification or tothe same set or composition of articles. |
| Convention priority: | 6-month priority may be claimed. |
| Locarno Classification: | Not applied formally. |
| Examination: | Industrial design applications are subjected to examination as to Novelty. |
| Publication: | Design applications are published in the Official Gazette before issuance of registration certificate. |
| Opposition: | There are no provisions for opposition. |
| Protection term: | Protection is granted initially for a 5-year term starting from the date of filing. Upon proprietor’s request the term may be extended for two further consecutive periods of 5 years each. |
| Renewal grace period: | 6 months with late fee payment. |
| Registration timeframe (straightforward case): | 16 to 20 months (approximately). |
Requirements
- Representations (drawings/ photographs), filing particulars and brief abstract of the design.
- Power of Attorney from the applicant – duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Omani Consulate;
- A simple copy of Certificate of Incorporation of the applicant or an Excerpt from the Commercial Register relating thereto.
- Deed of Assignment, duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Omani Consulate; if the applicant is not the inventor.
- Certified copy of priority document, if priority is claimed.
National Legislation
- Law for the Protection of Copyright and Neighboring Rights issued by Royal Decree No. 65/2008 as amended by Royal Decree No. 132/2008.
Basic Information
- Works protected: The copyright protection under the Omani Copyright Law specifically covers: books, brochures, articles, leaflets and other written works; computer programs and databases whether readable from the computer or other; works that are delivered verbally such as lectures, speeches or sermons and the other works of a similar nature; dramatic, musical and choreographic works, silent shows (pantomimes) and other works made for acting performance; musical compositions with or without words; audio-visual works; works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, lithography, printing on fabric, wood or metals, and any similar works in fine arts; photographic works and similar works; works of applied and plastic arts either handcrafted or industrial; illustrations, geographical maps, plans, sketches, and three-dimensional works related to geography, topography, or architecture; the title of work if it is of a creative nature; derivative works; collections of works, such as encyclopedias, which by reason of their selection and arrangement of their contents are of creative nature; compilations of data or other material, whether machine readable or in other format, which by reason of the selection and arrangement of their contents are of creative nature.
- 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; official documents of whatever original language or translated language, as texts of laws, regulations, decisions, agreements, international conventions, judicial orders, judgments of arbitrators and decisions issued by administrative committees with judicial competence, as well as the official translations of any of the above; news of current events that are mere journalistic information.
- 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: 4 to 6 months (approximately).
Requirements
- Power of Attorney from the applicant – duly Apostilled or legalized up to the Omani Consulate;
- Three original samples of the work;
- A copy of the home registration certificate or effective foreign registration elsewhere.
