Table of Contents
Patents of Invention
Legal Basis
– Patents and Industrial Designs Law No. 65 of 1970, Iraq Government Gazette No. 1865 of April 6, 1970, last amended by Order No. 81 of 2004.
Membership in International Conventions
– Paris Convention.
– Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
Filing Requirements
– Power of attorney stamped and sealed by the applicant’s company with eight-point boycott questionnaire concerning the Israel boycott (legalized up to the Iraqi Consulate);
– 8 copies of the specification and of the summary of the invention in English and Arabic;
– 8 copies of the drawings in English and Arabic;
– An attested copy of the patent if the invention has already been patented in foreign countries;
– Deed of assignment between the inventor(s) and the applicant, notarized and legalized up to the Iraqi Consulate.
Remarks
National Phase of PCT: under Chapter I: 31 months; under Chapter II: 31 months.
Duration: patent issued after formal examination and as to sufficient disclosure of the invention – valid for 20 years. (Patents of pharmaceutical and medicinal preparations are valid for 10 years, extendible twice for five-year periods.)
Annuities: back annuities are due upon grant; then due annually.
Opposition: not possible.
Revocation: patents can be revoked and their rights forfeited if it appears: (1) that the invention is not novel or that the patent was granted in violation of the Iraqi law or any other law or that the patent was obtained fraudulently or through infringement of the rights acquired by others; (2) that the subject matter of the invention is contrary to public security or morality; (3) that the specification of the invention is not sufficient to describe the nature of the invention or that is does not show the full and actual manner of its use. Competent court: applications for the revocation of patents under these three items must be made by an action brought before the Administrative Court either by any interested person or by the Court itself.
Trade and Service Marks
Legal Basis
– Trademarks and Descriptions Law No. 21 of 1957 (Wakayi al Irakiya No. 4003 of June 16, 1957), last amended by Law No. 9 of 2010, in force since February 15, 2010.
Membership in International Conventions
– Paris Convention.
Filing Requirements
– Power of attorney (legalized up to the Iraqi Consulate);
– The classes and subclasses of the goods to be covered by the application;
– 10 prints of the trademark (Note: an Arabic transliteration must be included with any foreign trademark logo and should be placed above the foreign trademark);
– A certified copy of the priority document (if priority is claimed), duly legalized up to the Iraqi Consulate.
Notes: from January 2, 2023, trademark applications filed in Latin script must include the Arabic transliteration of the mark. The legalized power of attorney must be submitted to the Trademark Registry within six months from the application filing date. For recordal of assignment, change of name and address, merger and license, all requisite documents are to be submitted as originals at the time of filing.
Remarks
Duration – renewals: 10 years from the filing date; renewable for further periods of 10 years. Note: trademarks registered before or during the year 2004, which are valid for fifteen years, will be renewed for further ten years.
Obligation to use the registered mark: any interested person may apply to the court to cancel a registered trademark for non-use during three years following the date of its registration, unless such non-use can be proved to be due to uncontrollable circumstances or if there is any other justifiable excuse for such non-use.
Opposition: any interested person may, within ninety days from the date of the last advertisement, file a written opposition against the registration of a mark.
Industrial Designs
Legal Basis
– Patents and Industrial Designs Law No. 65 of 1970, Iraq Government Gazette No. 1865 of April 6, 1970, last amended by Order No. 81 of 2004.
Membership in International Conventions
– Paris Convention.
Filing Requirements
– Power of attorney with eight-point boycott questionnaire concerning the Israel boycott (legalized up to the Iraqi Consulate);
– 8 copies of a short description of the design;
– 8 copies of its drawings and outlines;
– 2 miniature models of the design applied for registration.
Notes: if the above documents are in a language other than Arabic, a certified translation must accompany them. All required documents may be submitted within six months from the filing date, which is strictly non-extendible. Failing to submit the required documents within the time limit will cause the design application to be rejected and nullified by the Registry.
Remarks
Duration: after formal and novelty examination: 10 years from the date of issuing the certificate. No extension.
Opposition: may be filed within ninety days after publication of an application.
Domain Names
Filing
ccTLD: .iq
Applicant: individuals and legal entities.
Local presence: not required, but a local representative must be appointed. Foreign applicants must have a trademark or trade name registered in Iraq similar or identical to the domain name.
Remarks
Duration – renewals: one to ten years, renewable.
Uniform dispute resolution procedure: none.