Filing Industrial Designs and Models in Qatar
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) in Qatar has officially announced the commencement of the physical reception of Industrial Designs and Models applications through the Industrial Property Office, which marks the establishment of the formal filing procedure. The Ministry strongly emphasizes that all applicants must strictly utilize the official application forms, provide all required supporting documents, and adhere to the approved classification system when submitting their applications.
Since the official process, the necessary forms, and the fee structure have now been clearly established and published by the MoCI, Cautionary Notices are no longer considered necessary for this purpose. Therefore, applicants who previously relied on published cautionary notices are strongly advised to proceed immediately with filing formal applications corresponding to their previously published notices to abide by the newly established formal and legal formalities.
JAH Intellectual Property is prepared to guide your company through these impactful changes.
Tanzania Court Rules ARIPO Trademarks Are Not Protected Domestically
The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization has issued an official circular (reference ARIPO_BP/2025/1) regarding a critical judgment from the Court of Appeal of Tanzania, which has immediate and significant implications for trademark protection in that jurisdiction through the ARIPO system. This notice is based on the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal of Tanzania on September 26, 2025 (Civil Appeal No. 593 of 2022).
The Court of Appeal held that Tanzania had not locally ratified the Banjul Protocol. The critical finding is that, consequently, the registration of trademarks using ARIPO’s Banjul system provides no protection under Tanzania’s domestic law. This means that any trademark rights obtained solely through the regional ARIPO filing system are legally unenforceable within the Tanzania.
As a direct consequence, ARIPO has announced that Tanzania is ineligible for designation under the Banjul Protocol until further notice. This suspension affects both new applications seeking to designate Tanzania and the legal status of existing ARIPO registrations in the country.
In light of this situation, we strongly recommend that clients with existing ARIPO registrations designating Tanzania to file new national trademark applications directly with the trademarks office in Tanzania without delay, as their current marks are considered unprotected. For all future filings, the national route must be used to secure effective trademark protection in Tanzania until the legal status of the Banjul Protocol is resolved. ARIPO has assured its valued users that Tanzania is pursuing all available legal, administrative, and diplomatic avenues to expedite domestication of the Protocol.
Turkey: Revised Individual Fee Amounts for Trademark Applications and Renewals under the Madrid Protocol – Effective December 12, 2025
We wish to inform you of a change in the official fees for designating Türkiye IR trademark applications under the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Madrid Protocol. In accordance with Article 8 (7) of the Madrid Protocol, the Government of Türkiye has notified WIPO of modified amounts for the individual fee. This new fee schedule will take effect as from December 12, 2025. For an International Application or Subsequent Designation, the fees are slightly reduced across the below tabulated services:
