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:

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:

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.

By: Sara Omran

For more information, please contact Sara Omran at our UAE office.