Qatar - Applications for Industrial Designs and Models can now be filed
The Qatari Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), through the Intellectual Property Rights Protection Department, has officially started accepting industrial design applications from 26 October 2025. This long-anticipated development brings into effect Law No. 10 of 2020 on Industrial Designs and its Implementing Regulations No. 129 of 2024. The move brings Qatar closer to international standards and provides designers, innovators and businesses with a formal mechanism to safeguard their creative design work within the jurisdiction.
The new registration system allows applicants to benefit from a 6-month priority period. Design applications can include up to 100 drawings in a single application, as long as all designs belong to the same class. Examination will take place within 30 days from the filing date, and applicants will have 90 days to respond to any office actions that are issued. An opposition period of 60 days from publication is provided for. Design registrations will be granted for an initial term of 5 years, extendible by two further 5-year periods on payment of renewal fees.
Since the official fees, forms and processes have now been established by the MoCI, the previous practice of publishing cautionary notices in a local newspaper is no longer considered necessary for this purpose. Therefore, applicants who previously relied on cautionary notices are strongly advised to proceed immediately with filing formal applications corresponding to their previously published notices, in accordance with the new law.
Contact us for assistance with filing and protecting your designs in Qatar or other jurisdictions.
