Following the recent administrative updates in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, the Bahraini Ministry of Industry and Commerce has now implemented similar temporary measures to address the ongoing difficulties in completing notarization and legalization procedures and submitting documents in accordance with the statutory deadlines stipulated by the law. Under Decision No. 13 of 2026, which became effective on March 17, 2026, the Ministry has introduced a grace period for submitting attested documents including POAs for all industrial property matters, including trademarks, patents, utility models, and industrial designs.
Article 1 of the decree stipulates that trademark agents and owners may submit applications and documents without initial notarization or legalization, provided they submit a formal request stating the specific justifications and reasons that prevented the completion of these procedures. This flexibility grants applicants an additional period of three months to complete the necessary legalization chain, starting from either the date the extension request was filed or the expiration of the standard period originally allowed for document submission. According to Article 3, these provisions apply to all new applications as well as those that have either not yet undergone formal examination or have been examined but are currently missing the required authenticated documents.
To ensure the validity of these filings, Article 2 clarifies that applications will be formally accepted only after the payment of any applicable official fees and the submission of the original legalized documents within the three-month window. It is critical to note that if this period expires without the submission of the required authenticated documents or POAs, the application will be considered void and treated as if it was never filed. The competent department within the Ministry will review and verify all such requests to ensure they align with the current regional logistical difficulties as mentioned in Article 4. This specific decree is scheduled to remain in effect for a duration of three months from its issuance date.
At JAH Intellectual Property, we are actively managing these requirements for our clients and associates to ensure that all Bahraini filings remain secure despite the current regional climate. We will automatically prepare and submit the necessary justification letters and extension requests on behalf of our clients and associates to meet all statutory deadlines. As with our procedures for the UAE and Qatar, we facilitate these Bahraini extensions without any additional professional or official fees to maintain the continuity and protection of your intellectual property portfolio.