The Libyan Trade Mark Office has temporarily suspended the processing of new trade mark applications, with effect from 5 March 2025 to 10 April 2025.

Two Ukrainian bottled water producers violated the local competition legislation by making unsubstantiated claims about their products’ health benefits.

The updated Guidelines provide a general overview of the examination procedure and summarize the current administrative and judicial practices.

The new official fees for certain patent and design services will come into force on 1 March 2025, affecting both new and existing applications.

The amendments include new provisions and enhance copyright protection in the digital environment.

The changes include an increase in official fees and additional procedural complexities.

The Iraqi TMO transitioned from the 7th to the 11th edition of the Nice International Classification of Goods and Services on 14 January 2025.

Adoption of literal interpretation of class headings represents a step toward harmonizing Georgian trade mark law with the EU regulations.

Applicants are now allowed to designate an unlimited number of items within a single filing.

The Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement enters into force in Saudi Arabia on 7 April 2025.

This initiative improves trade mark enforcement and ensures that counterfeit goods do not infiltrate the local market.

The service aims at resolving IP disputes without the involvement of courts and is delivered through the Taradhi platform.

A representative from CWB office in Serbia co-organized and witnessed eight destructions of fake apparel and footwear in 2024.

The .ua Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy was extended to additional third-level domain zones on 1 November 2024.

Riyadh Design Law Treaty was adopted on 22 November 2024 aiming to simplify requirements and registration procedures.

The Treaty includes provisions specifically related to indigenous peoples and local communities.

Certain restrictions that the Trade Mark Office in Sana’a imposed against Swedish and American companies, agencies and branches have eased.

The Protocol on the Protection of Industrial Designs to the Eurasian Patent Convention will enter into force in Turkmenistan on 4 January 2025.

Ethiopia’s Council of Ministers approved the country’s accession to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.

Both treaties will enter into force on 10 January 2025.

The new law will unify the existing regulations into a single legal framework aligned with EU standards.

The counterfeit parts were distributed across Ukraine using postal service and online stores.

The main goal of the reform is to harmonize design regulations and improve design protection in the era of digital designs and 3D printing.

Kuwait launched the first phase of the .kw ccTLD registration service on 23 September 2024.

The Saudi IPO will begin functioning as an ISA and an IPEA on 15 December 2024.

The Libyan Trade Mark Office resumed accepting new trade mark applications on 2 September 2024.

EPO has invited Bosnia and Herzegovina to accede to the European Patent Convention.

All deadlines have been suspended effective 23 September 2024 until operations return to normal.

Terms have been added, modified, or deleted to reflect new trends and contemporary language use.

Right holders will be able to demand compensation from infringers, instead of damages.

Beginning 3 October 2024 all customs AFAs must be submitted and managed electronically.

The Iraqi Trademark Office will begin using the 11th edition starting January 2025.

The new law was published on 4 October 2024 and will take effect 180 days after publication.

The IPOs in Sana’a and Aden have both updated trademark procedures.

Qatar recently made its database of 147,670 trademark records available to the Global Brand Database.

Romania became the 18th EU member state to ratify the Agreement.

The Madrid Protocol entered into force in Qatar on 3 August 2024.

The President of Turkmenistan signed the law on accession to the Protocol on 13 July 2024.

The Qatar Ministry of Commerce and Industry introduced significant service fee reductions across key sectors effective 11 July 2024.

Slovakia, Montenegro and Moldova deposited their instruments of accession on 9 July, 10 July and 11 July 2024, respectively.

The Ministry of Economy issued a notice informing IP right holders that zero amount payments were not valid.

This decision confirms the first ruling of its kind in Serbian practice related to counterfeit car parts.

After not operating since 8 November 2022 due to the profound IPO reform in Ukraine, the Appeal Board resumed operations on 18 June 2024.

The African Intellectual Property Organization launched its trademark e-filing system on 3 June 2024.

The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization and the Chinese Intellectual Property Office launched a joint Patent Prosecution Highway pilot program on 8 June 2024.

If their applications are refused, applicants can now only appeal the refusal decision within a 60-day period.

The Iraqi IPO started implementing two new trademark practices in May 2024.

Trademark law amendments entered into force in Georgia on 8 March 2024, aiming to align Georgian legislation with that of the European Union.

As of 23 February 2024, the examination of trademark applications in Kazakhstan can be carried out in an accelerated procedure.

Saudi Arabia has recently announced the launch of a National Intellectual Property Rights Exchange Platform and an Intellectual Property Prosecution initiative.

The Kazakh Intellectual Property Office recently granted a patent for Kazakh horse breed ‘Adai’ to the Association of Adai Horse Breeders.

The Ukrainian Antimonopoly Committee has recently fined two Ukrainian wine companies for violating the local competition legislation by using misleading bottle labels.

Ukrainian authorities have recently shut down various underground workshops used for large-scale production of counterfeit food and household chemicals.

The amendments are intended to align Hungarian design legislation with the EU design reform, while they also incorporate local design reform initiatives and the feedback received from Hungarian IP professionals during public consultation.

On 17 January 2024, Resolution No. 26 of 2024 entered into force in Libya, implementing a new executive regulation regarding Law No. 23 of 2010 on Trademarks.

The validation agreement between Georgia and the European Patent Organization entered into force on 15 January 2024.

Trademark applications for signs containing INNs filed on and after 1 January 2024 will not be registered by the IPO.

On 29 December 2023, SAIP issued decision No. 14/T/2023 setting the conditions for using the name of Saudi Arabia and the names of Saudi cities, regions, and public places as trademarks.

The amendments take effect on December 1, 2023, except for the transparency and reporting provisions, which will come into force on December 3, 2024.

CWB Montenegro office representatives and local customs authorities witnessed the destruction of nearly 32,500 items found to infringe the Nike®, Zara®, Dsquared2®, USPA®, Under Armor® and Hermès® trademarks.

The new Law on Copyright and Related Rights, which entered into force in Kosovo on 27 October 2023, incorporated various new provisions aligned with the EU legislative framework.

On 9 November 2023, amendments to the copyright and related rights law were adopted in Moldova, partially transposing European Directive 2012/28/EU on certain permitted uses of orphan works.