31 July 2024

Qatar Reduces Patent and Design Fees

The Qatar Ministry of Commerce and Industry introduced significant service fee reductions across key sectors, including patent and design services, effective 11 July 2024. This move is intended to fortify Qatar’s economic landscape and enhance its appeal to investors.

All design fees have been decreased; the former and current fees are outlined in the table below:

Service Official fees before 11 July 2024 (USD) New official fees (USD)
Design registration and technical examination 805 671
Objection after publication 805 537
Renewal (first time) 1,342 537
Renewal (second time) 1,879 537

All patent fees have been significantly reduced, except the patent registration and technical examination fee for companies, institutions and research bodies, which was increased by more than seven times. The former and current fees are outlined in the table below:

Service Individuals Companies, institutions and research bodies
Official fees before 11 July 2024 (USD) New official fees (USD) Official fees before 11 July 2024 (USD) New official fees (USD)
Technical search 134 54 537 107
Patent registration and technical examination 940 671 188 1,342
Patent grant and publication 322 215 644 430
Registration of complaint 537 134 1,074 268

Additionally, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s Intellectual Property Department recently released new guidelines for patent annuity fee payments according to which the annuity fee is no longer paid upon filing together with the registration filing fee. Instead, it must be paid separately using a separate application.

Furthermore, earlier this year, the Ministry announced that applicants whose patent applications have been pending for three years do not need to pay annual fees starting from the fourth year, and that once approval is granted, all outstanding annual fees will have to be paid alongside the grant fees. However, a new announcement was circulated in September 2024 clarifying that the Ministry does not object to the payment of annuities from the fourth year onward and that duplicate payments for the same annuity will not be refundable.

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