The provisions of Law No. 4 of 1962 and its amendment of 1999 allows for the registration of patents and industrial models in Kuwait. The validity of a patent of invention is twenty years as from the date of filing the application. The patent owner is required to submit an application for renewal of the patent during the last six (6) months upon expiry of every four (4) years. The validity of an industrial model registration is for ten years starting from the date of the registration application.

Currently , once an application is filed for the grant of a patent or an industrial model registration no further action is taken by the Kuwaiti Patent Registrar. The Kuwaiti Patent Office has not yet started the process of examining, publishing and granting of patents and designs. All patents and designs filed with the Kuwaiti Patent Office are practically in the application stage, although the relevant inventions and designs are protected currently for 15 years and 5 years respectively.

Until the Kuwaiti Patent Office changes the present practice, all filed patent and design applications shall remain as documentary evidence of ownership and priority claim even in the absence of examination and issuance of certificates by the Patent Office. The usual actions of opposition, renewal, payment of annuities, working, and so forth (with the exception of the assignment of applications), are not applicable in Kuwait. It is advisable under these circumstances to file the applications for confirmation patents (patents of importation) or industrial models by the time the protection secured through the initial applications ends.

Kuwait is party to the Gulf Cooperation Patent Office, for more information, please see page 31.

In the Law No. 4 of 1999 , utility models shall be granted for applications including a new technical solution in shape or formulation for equipment, means, tools, parts thereof or others which are used in commercial applications. An applicant may transfer his application into a patent for invention if the conditions are fulfilled, and visa-versa. In both cases, the filing date of the original application shall be taken into consideration. This law will go into affect with the publication of the implementing regulations, which at the time of printing of this handbook had not been issued.

The term of protection for a model would be 7 years starting from the date of submitting the application, such term is not renewable, the model will be published within 6 months as of the date of submitting the application.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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