– Royal Decree No. 33 of 2017 adopting the GCC Trademark Law, in force since July 30, 2017.

– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since February 19, 1997.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since July 14, 1999.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since November 9, 2000.
– Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, since October 16, 2007.
– Trademark Law Treaty, since October 16, 2007.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since January 30, 2012.
– Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, Geneva Act, since June 30, 2021.

Applicant: should be a legal entity.

Foreigners: may apply for registration of marks on the basis of reciprocity and must be represented by an agent residing in Oman. The first registrant of a trademark is entitled to protection under the law.

Definition: as per the provisions of the Law, the trademark is any distinguished shape which can be perceived by sight such as words, signatures, personal names, letters, numbers, drawings, symbols, signboards, stamps, seals, engravings, combinations of colors, pictorial elements or any other sign or a combination thereof if it is used or is intended to be used to distinguish goods, products or services to indicate that they belong to the owner of the trademark because of their manufacture, their selection, the trade in them or their display for sale.

Excluded from registration: marks that are not distinctive, descriptive, injurious to public morals; general logos, flags, and other signs of national and international organizations; signs of religious character; geographical names, names and pictures of third parties, drawings of honorary distinctions and signs which are likely to deceive the public; signs void of any distinctive character, signs consisting of data which is nothing but appellation given by usage to goods and products, familiar drawings or ordinary pictures of goods and products shall not be considered as trademarks and shall not be registered as such.

Marks in color: registrable.

Sound and smell marks: not registrable.

Service marks: registrable.

Collective marks: registrable.

Series of marks: registrable.

Certification marks: registrable.

Priority: must be claimed upon filing; on the basis of reciprocity with the country of the applicant or adhesion to international conventions and agreements (Paris or WTO).

Classification: the International Classification of Goods and Services is followed (11th Edition). The registration in class 33, for alcoholic beverages is possible, and registration of a mark for "beers" in class 32 is possible but must be non-alcoholic. The registration in class 32 is only being allowed for marks for non-alcoholic beverages and preparations for non-alcoholic beverages. An application can cover one trademark and include goods or services in only one class.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Application on prescribed form, signed by the agent, with the following information: (a) full name, title, occupation or nature of business, trade name, nationality and address of the applicant; (b) if the applicant is a body corporate, the full name, trade name, legal status, address, object and seat, as well as the place where the enterprise is located that uses or will use the mark; (c) if the name and address of the applicant are not in English or French, the English phonetic pronunciation must be indicated, to which the agent will attach the transliteration into Arabic;
2. Power of attorney, duly legalized up to the Consulate of the Sultanate of Oman, or in absence, by the Consulate of any Arab country;
3. A simple copy of the Certificate of Incorporation of the applicant’s company or an extract of its entry in the Commercial Register or a certificate of good standing if all relevant information are included in such a document;
4. List of goods and/or services according to the 11th Edition of the Nice Classification;
5. 1 print; if colors are claimed, the print must be in color;
6. If priority is claimed, a certified copy of the foreign application; must be filed on filing the application or within three months after the filing date.

Note: all documents must be in Arabic language or be accompanied by an Arabic translation.

Late filing of documents: possible. Trademark applications can be filed without the complete required documents at the time of filing and the required original documents can be filed within sixty days from the filing date.

Electronic filing: available as of March 7, 2021; with a 20% increase on the official fees.

Electronic signatures: are not accepted (only wet signatures). Scanned copies of signed documents are accepted, however, the original must be sent at a later date.

For a change of name or address:
1. An original or certified/notarized change of name/address document, along with a simple English translation;
2. Power of attorney in the new name or address, duly notarized and legalized up to the Omani Consulate, or in absence by the Consulate of any Arab country.

Examination: as to form and registrability. An official search for prior registered trademarks is made as part of the official examination of the application.

Objections of the Registrar: are notified to the parties concerned by official letters.

Amendments: modifications are accepted if they do not affect the entity of the mark or aim at completing the relevant application.

Rights of prior user: no provision.

Disclaimers: available. 

Letters of consent: may be accepted, should be notarized and legalized up to the Omani Consulate, or in absence by the Consulate of any Arab country.

Publication: when an application has been accepted, it will be published in the Official Gazette and in one local daily newspaper.

Opposition: can be filed within ninety days from the publication date in the Official Gazette.

Registration: after expiry of the opposition period. The registration is published once in the Official Gazette.

Appeal: in case of refusal or conditional acceptance, the applicant may lodge an appeal within thirty days with the Commercial Court. The Court may confirm, cancel or amend the decision of the Registrar. In case no appeal is lodged within the thirty-day period, or if the conditions set by the Registrar (where applicable) are not satisfied, the application shall be deemed abandoned.

Delivery of document: the certificate of grant is issued in paper format only.

Protection period: ten years from the date of application.

Renewal: for further periods of ten years each. There is a grace period of six months to renew with payment of a late renewal fine.

Rights of the owner: the registrant solely is entitled to use the mark.

Assignments: possible with or without the goodwill of the business.

Licenses: may be granted to any natural or legal person. A license may relate to all or part of the goods or services for which the mark is registered. Licenses must be recorded in the trademark register and its recordal must be published in order to become effective against third parties.

Alteration after registration: additions to or alterations in a registered mark which do not substantially affect its identity may be requested by the owner of the registration at any time. The procedure is similar to the procedure for the registration of a mark, including the possibility to lodge an appeal.

Use: required. A registered mark must be effectively used within three years from registration. If a mark has not been so used without legitimate reasons for three consecutive years or more, any interested party may request the cancellation of its registration with the Omani Trademark Office. It is also possible to file the cancellation action at the Commercial Court if the trademark is not used within five years from registration.

Marking: is not compulsory.

Contesting the ownership of a trademark: is not possible if the registrant has used the trademark during three uninterrupted years from the registration date without any successful legal action against its registration during that period.

Time within which a mark cannot be registered by another: when a registration is struck out of the Register under the conditions provided for in the law, the trademark may not be registered in the name of another party for three years from the date of cancellation.

Cancellation: possible, if the mark is not renewed; cancellation ordered by the Omani Trademark Office or the Commercial Court; or upon a request by the registrant.

Status of unregistered marks: all marks that have been used prior to enactment of the law should be officially registered within two years from the enforcement date of the law. The first registrant is entitled to protection under the law.

Transitional provisions and incontestability of a trademark registration: the trademarks which were in use when the new law came into effect and which were registered within four years as of this date shall be considered to have been registered as of the date on which the law came into effect; the ownership of a trademark may not be disputed if it has been used for at least three continuous years as of the date of registration and if no legal action was brought against it contesting its validity.

Infringement and penalties: in case of infringement of a registered mark or of the provisions on the protection of trade data, an injunction and compensation of damages may be requested with the Commercial Court. Precautionary measures may be obtained. The following acts will be punishable under the provisions of the Trademark Law: (1) counterfeiting a lawfully registered mark or imitating it in such a manner as to deceive the public or using a counterfeit or imitated trademark; (2) selling or offering for sale or circulating or possessing for the purpose of sale products bearing a counterfeit mark, an imitated mark or unlawfully placed mark while knowing of this fact; (3) using with bad intent an identical or similar mark so as to create confusion with a well-known, registered or unregistered mark (if the well-known mark is not registered, the goods or services must be identical or similar); (4) violating with bad intent the rules regarding trade data; (5) intentional violation of unfair competition rules and the protection of trade secrets. The Punishment for the above-mentioned acts will be imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years and a fine not exceeding 2000.00 Omani riyals or either of the two penalties shall be imposed on.

Enforcement: provided for.