As you may be aware, historically, it was possible under the old Samoan Patents Act 1972 to obtain a patent in Samoa based on a granted EP(UK) patent. Under that Act, no maintenance or renewal fees for re-registrations were payable.  However, a new Intellectual Property Act was passed in Samoa in 2011, which abolished the patent re-registration system.   In 2017, when the official fees payable under the new Act were first set, the Samoan Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and...

Following a recent decision by the Bahraini Patent Office to begin substantively examining patent applications, the long-awaited Implementing Regulations of Law No. 1 of 2004 concerning patents and utility models were published on 13th December 2018.  It is hoped that these Regulations will provide a clearer prosecution procedure for patent applications in Bahrain.     In addition, the Patent Office updated the official fees for patent applications, and introduced substantive...

The revised IP Law of OAPI known as the Bangui Accord has recently been made available to the public for the first time. However, it has yet to enter into force, as it requires ratification by 12 member states before it can be promulgated, and so far, only 7 member states have done so. The changes introduced by the new law include the following:- Trade Marks The definition of a trade mark will be broadened to include sounds. Substantive examination on absolute grounds will be conducted for...