The Kuwait Trade Mark Office (TMO) now requires all Powers of Attorney (POAs) for foreign trade mark applications to be legalised up to the Kuwait Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Previously, the chain of legalisation ended at the local Kuwaiti Embassy or Consulate abroad.

While applications can still be filed beforehand, the fully legalised POA must be submitted within a strict 90-day-post-filling window. Therefore, the POA legalisation process should be initiated promptly after filing since the procedure now involves coordination before the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As procedural changes such as the above are often communicated verbally by the Registry without official written circulars, applicants should coordinate closely with their local counsel at the time of filing to confirm that the requirement remains current.