TRADEMARKS  LAW  &  REGULATIONS

KUWAIT.

CHAPTER  II  -  TRADEMARKS AND INFORMATION

LAW NO. 68 OF 1980 COMMERCIAL LAW

SECTION  I  -  TRADEMARKS AND PROCEDURE FOR THEIR

REGISTRATION

A trademark shall be any characteristic which takes a distinctive form, such as words, signatures, letters, numerals, drawings, symbols, titles, seals, pictures, engravings or any other mark or combination of marks, which are used or intended to be used to distinguish goods or products and to indicate that such goods or products are exclusively the trademark of the owner who selects them, trades in them or displays them for sale.

Article 62:

The following may not be used to constitute trademarks nor may they be registered as such:

       1. Marks devoid of any distinctive characteristics, or marks composed of nomenclature customarily given to goods or products, or common drawings and pictures of goods and products.

       2. Any expression or drawing or mark offensive to public decorum or contrary to public order.

       3. Public insignia, flags and other symbols related to the state or to the United Nations Organization or any of its institutions, or to any State according reciprocal treatment to Kuwait, or any imitation of such insignia.

       4. The symbols of the Red Crescent, Red Cross and other similar symbols, as well as the marks which are an imitation thereof.

       5. Marks corresponding to or identical with symbols of purely religious nature.

       6. Geographical names where the use thereof might cause ambiguity as to the source or origin of the goods.

       7. The name, surname, photograph or logo of other persons unless where such person has agreed in advance to their use.

       8. Titles related to honorary degrees where an applicant for the registration thereof fails to prove his legal right thereto.

       9. Marks which might mislead the public or which embody untrue statements about the origin or other particulars of the products, as well as marks which contain an imaginary, imitated or forged business name.

       10. Marks which the Israel Boycott Bureau determines that they are identical or similar to an Israeli mark, symbol or insignia.

Article 63:

A register shall be kept in the Ministry concerned - to be called the Register of Trademarks - for registration of all marks, the names and addresses of their owners, the descriptions, of their goods, and any assignment transfer or relinquishment involving the mark.  The public shall have the right to see this Register and to take authenticated copies therefrom against payment of the specified fees.

Article 64:

Any person who wishes to use a mark to distinguish goods which are produced, manufactured, made or selected by him, or in which he trades, or display for sale, may apply for registration of such mark in accordance with the rules of this Law.

Article 65:

       1. A registered trademark shall be the sole property of the applicant for registration thereof.

       2. Ownership of a mark may not be disputed if the person who registered the mark has used it for at least five consecutive years from the date of registration without any contention concerning its validity.

Article 66:

An application for registration of a mark shall be presented to the Department of the Trademark Registration in the manner and as per the conditions laid down in the implementing regulations governing such registration.

Article 67:

A mark may not be registered except for one or more categories of the products, as defined by the implementing regulations of the Trademarks Register.

Article 68:

In the event two or more persons simultaneously apply for the registration of one and the same mark or for the registration of marks similar or marked by similar marks for one particular category of products, the Registrar must stop all applications until presentation of an approved relinquishment by one of the contending parties in favour of the other or until a final judgement is issued in favour of one of the two contending parties.

Article 69:

The Registrar may impose such restrictions and modifications as he may deem necessary to define and clarify the trademark in such a manner as to prevent confusion with any other mark already registered, or on the grounds of any other reason he deems appropriate.

Article 70:

If the Registrar refuses to register a trademark for a reason which he deems appropriate or if he makes the registration conditional on restrictions and modifications he should notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for his decision.

Article 71:

       1. Any decision by the Registrar refusing registration or attaching it to any condition may be contested by the applicant before the Court of First Instance within thirty days from the date he is notified of the decision.  The Court may either uphold, cancel or amend the decision.

       2. In the event the applicant does not contest the decision within the period specified, or does not carry out the restrictions imposed by the Registrar within that period he shall be considered as having given up his applications.

Article 72:

       1. If the Registrar approves of a trademark he should advertise it in three consecutive issues of the Official Gazette before registration.

2. Any interested person may, within thirty days from the date of the last such advertisement, present to the Registrar a written notification of his objection to the registration of the mark, The Registrar should forward a copy of such objection to the applicant for registration who in turn should present to the Registrar, within thirty days, a written reply to such objection.  In the event the reply is not received within the afore-mentioned period the applicant for registration shall be considered as having given up his application.

        Article 73:

       1. Before deciding on the objection presented to him the Registrar should hear the views of the two parties, or either of them if requested to do so.

       2. The Registrar shall issue a decision approving or rejecting registration.  In the first case he may determine such restrictions as he may deem necessary.

       3. Any person interested may contest the Registrar's decision before the Court of First Instance within ten days from the date he is notified thereof.  The court may either uphold, cancel or amend the decision.

        Article 74:

In the event the Registrar considers that an objection to the registration of a mark is not serious, and thus decides to register such mark, he may, in spite of the contest made against his decision, issue a justified decision for the processing of registration.

Article 75:

       1. If a mark is registered the registration shall be valid from the date of presentation of the application therefor.

       2. Following registration of a mark the owner thereof shall be given a certificate containing the following particulars:

a. The serial number of the mark.

b. The date of application and the date of registration.

                  c. Name, surname, place of residence and nationality of the owner of the mark.

d. An exact copy of the mark.

e. A statement of the goods or products covered by the mark.

Article 76:

The owner of a mark already registered may, at any time, apply to the Registrar for entry of any addition to or modification of his mark which does not intrinsically affect its character.  The decision of the Registrar in this connection shall be issued in accordance with the conditions laid down for decisions concerning initial applications for registration, and shall be contestable in the same procedure.

Article 77:

       1. The period of protection eventuated by registration of a mark shall be ten years.  Nevertheless, the owner of the mark may ensure the extension of protection for further periods if he applies for renewal within the last year (of the period) in the manner and as per the requirements provided for in Article 66.

       2. Within the month following expiry of the period of protection the Registrar shall notify the owner of the mark in writing, and at his address recorded in the Register, of the expiry of protection.  In the event three months elapse from the date of expiry of the period of protection without the owner of the mark applying for renewal the Registrar shall automatically delete the mark from the Register.

Article 78:

       1. Without prejudice to Article 65, the Registrar and any person concerned shall have the right  to seek a judgement for the deletion of such marks which may have been registered wrongly.  The Registrar shall delete the registration whenever a final judgement to this effect is presented to him.

       2. The Court may, upon request of the Registrar or any person concerned, order the addition to the Register, of any statement which may have been inadvertently skipped, or the deletion or amendment of any statement in the Register, if such statement has been entered wrongly or has been shown to be untrue.

       3. The Registrar shall decide the deletion of such marks as the Isrel Boycott Bureau in Kuwait may determine that they are identical  or similar to any Israeli mark, symbol or insignia.  He shall also decide not to register such marks if they were not registered already.

Article 79:

Unless the owner of a mark offers a justification for not using his mark, the Court may, upon request of any person concerned, order the registration to be deleted if it is proven to its satisfaction that the mark has not been used seriously for five consecutive years.

Article 80:

The deletion or renewal of a registration should be announced in the Official Gazette.

Article 81:

In the event registration of a mark is deleted, re-registration in favour of another person for the same products shall only be allowed after three years from the date of deletion.

Article 82:

The title to a mark may not be transferred, pledged or distrained upon except along with the business place or plant which uses the mark for distinguishing its products.

Article 83:

       1. In the absence of agreement to the contrary, the transfer of title to a business place or plant shall include the marks which are registered in the name of the transferer and which can be considered to have a close connection with the business place or plant.

       2. In the event title to a business place or plant is transferred without the mark, the transferer may continue to manufacture the same products for which the mark has been registered and to trade in them, unless it is agreed otherwise.

Article 84:

The transfer or mortgage of a mark may be used as evidence against others only after such transfer or mortgage has been noted in the Register and announced in the Official Gazette.

Article 85:

The Ministry concerned shall issue implementing regulations for the Trademarks Register, incorporating detailed rules in connection with the following:

1. Organization of supervision over the registration of trademarks, and maintenance of records.

SECTION  II  -  TRADE SPECIFICATIONS

Article 86:

Any statement connected directly or indirectly with the following shall be considered as commercial information:

1. Number, amount, size, measure, weight or power (capacity) of the goods.

2. The place or country where the goods were manufactured or produced.

3. Method of manufacture or production of goods.

4. Components of the goods.

5. Name or description of the producer or manufacturer.

Article 87:

       1. A commercial statement should conform to truth from all aspects whether be it placed on the products themselves, or on the premises or warehouses or on their signboards, wrapping paper, invoices, letters, advertising media or other articles used in displaying goods to the public.

Article 88:

       1. The name or address of a seller may not be put on products imported from a country other than the one in which the sale takes place unless such name or address is accompanied by an accurate statement written in clear letters and showing the country or place where the products were manufactured or made.

       2. Persons residing in a place known for the production or manufacture of certain products, and trading in similar products imported from elsewhere, may not put their marks on such products if this might mislead the public as to the source of products, even if such marks do not show the names or addresses of such persons, unless steps are taken to ensure the prevention of any ambiguity.

Article 89:

A manufacturer may not use the name of the place where his main factory is located for products manufactured for him in another place, unless such name is accompanied by a statement of the latter place in a manner preventing any ambiguity.

Article 90:

       1. No. statement may be given of any prizes, medals, diplomas or honorary degrees of any kind whatsoever except as regards the products to which such distinctions apply and  as regards the persons and business places to whom they have been awarded or such persons who have acquired the rights thereto.  In such latter cases, the statement should truly show the date and type (of distinctions) and the exhibitions or contests in which they were granted.

       2. No person who has participated with others in exhibiting any products may use, for his own products, any distinctions awarded to joint displays, unless he clearly shows the origin and type of such distinctions.

Article 91:

       1. In the event the amount, size, measure, power (capacity) weight, source or components of products constitute factors having a bearing on the assessment of the value of products the Minister concerned may issue a decision forbidding the import, sale or display of such products unless they bear one or more of the afore-mentioned particulars.

       2. The method by which statements shall be placed on products, and the alternative procedures which may be applied in the event such methods are impracticable, shall be fixed by a decision of the Minister concerned, provided, however, that such statements should be written in Arabic.

SECTION III  -  PENALTIES

Article 92:

Any person who:

       1. Forges a mark which has been registered in accordance with the law, or who imitates it in a way which may mislead the public, or who maliciously uses a forged or imitated mark;

       2. Maliciously fixes on his products a mark which belongs to another person;

       3. Knowingly sells, displays for sale or circulation, or who acquires products bearing forged, imitated or illegally - placed mark for the purpose of selling them;

       4. Maliciously violates the provisions of Articles 87-91 concerning commercial information;

Shall be liable for imprisonment and the payment of a fine not exceeding six hundred dinars, or for either one of these two penalties.

Article 93:

       1. The owner of a mark may at any time - even before filing any lawsuit - request, on submission of a petition accompanied by an official certificate evidencing registration of the mark, that the judge concerned issue an order to enforce such precautionary measures as may  be necessary, especially as regards seizure of equipment or tools used in perpetrating the crime, as well as the products, goods, signboards, wrapping materials, papers, etc., on which the mark or information involved in the crime, has been affixed.

       2. Such seizure may be carried out on importation of such goods from abroad.

       3. The order issued by the judge may include the delegation of one or more experts to assist the distrainer in his task and to compel the applicant to offer a surety.

Article 94:

The distraint procedures provided for in the previous Article shall be considered null an void if, within eight days of the execution of the distraint, they are not followed by filing a lawsuit against the person against whom such procedures had been taken.

Article 95:

      1. The Court may, in any lawsuit, decide confiscation of the things seized or to be seized at a later stage, for the purpose of deduction of their price from the damages as the Court may deem fit.

       2. The Court may also order destruction of the illegal marks, and if need be, order the destruction of the products, packing and wrapping materials and equipment, signboards, catalogues, etc., bearing such illegal marks or information, as well as the equipment and tools used specifically for forgery.  Furthermore, the Court may order enforcement of all the foregoing measures even in the event it adjudicates acquittal.

        3. The Court may order publication of the judgement in the Official Gazette at the expense of the convict.