APRIL 28, 2010 ASSIGNMET 2 Zalikha Abdulla Jassim

CSCIPE - CA BH08500083

1. Responsible Office For IPR

ADMINISTRATION

1. Industrial Property

Supervisory Ministry:
Ministry of Industry and Commerce Tel.: (973) 17.57.48.34
P.O. Box 5479 Fax: (973) 17.53.64.79
Manama
Title of Head: Minister for Industry and Commerce

Industrial Property Office:

Directorate of Industrial Property Tel: (973) 17.57.48.34
Diplomatic Area Fax :( 973) 17.53.64.79
P.O. Box 5479 E-mail: ipd@commerce.gov.bh
Manama Internet website: www.commerce.gov.bh
Title of Head: Director of Industrial Property

2. Copyright and Related Rights

Supervisory Ministry:
Ministry of Information Tel.: (973) 17.78.08.88
P.O. Box 253 Fax: (973) 17.68.27.77
Manama
Title of Head: Minister of Information

Copyright Office:
Directorate of Publications and Press Tel: (973) 17.71.75.25
As above, under Supervisory Ministry. Fax: (973) 17.71.75.15
Title of Head: Director
Title of Head: Director of Publications and Press

Collective Management Societies:

None.

2. What is the Law?

a. Industrial Property

Patents:
• Law No. 1 of 2004 on Patents and Utility Models, as amended by Law No. 14 of 2006.

Trade Marks:
• Law No.11 of 2006 on Trademarks.
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Industrial Designs:
• Law No. 6 of 2006 on Industrial Designs.

b. Copyright and Related Rights

Copyright:
• Law No. 22 of June 2006 on Copyright and Neighboring Rights.

Related Rights:
As above, under Copyright.

c. Other Country-Specific Legislation or Activities

Utility Models:
As above, under Patents.

Appellations of Origin / Geographical Indications / Indications of Source:

• Law No.16 of 2004 on Geographical Indications, as amended by Law No. 16 of 2006.

Protection of Undisclosed Information:

• Law No 7 of 2003 on Trade Secrets, as amended by Law No. 12 of 2006.

Layout Designs (Topographics) of Integrated Circuits:

• Law No. 5 of 2006 on Layout-Designs of Integrated Circuits.

Plant Variety Protection:

• Draft Law on Protection of Breeders of New Varieties of Plants, not yet in force.

d. Sources for Information on National Laws

Legal Affairs Department E-mail: lgaf@batelco.com.bh
Ministry. Of Cabinet Affairs. Internet website: www.gov.bh/legalaffairs/

3. What are the provision?

Bahrain-United States Free Trade Agreement

Intellectual Property Rights
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The Intellectual Property Rights Chapter of the Bahrain-United States Free Trade
Agreement complements and enhances existing international standards for the protection
and enforcement of intellectual property rights protection.

Chapter Fourteen complements and enhances existing international standards for the
protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights protection.

General Provisions.

Chapter Fourteen calls for the Parties to ratify or accede to certain agreements on
intellectual property rights, including the International Convention for the Protection of
New Varieties of Plants, the Trademark Law Treaty, the Brussels Convention Relating to
the Distribution of Programme-Carrying Satellite Signals (the “Brussels Convention”),
the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration
of Marks, the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of
Microorganisms (the “Budapest Treaty”), the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the WIPO
Copyright Treaty, and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. The United
States is already a party to these agreements.

Chapter Fourteen also requires broad application of the principle of national treatment,
with only limited exceptions. The general provisions further clarify the coverage of
existing subject matter and requirements for publication of all laws, regulations, and
procedures relating to the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

Trademarks and Geographical Indications.

Chapter Fourteen establishes rules concerning the protection of trademarks and

geographical indications. For example, Parties must provide the owner of a registered
trademark the exclusive right to prevent its use in the course of trade for related goods
and services by any party not having the owner’s consent. The Chapter also sets out rules
with respect to the registration of trademarks, including a provision that signs need not be
visibly perceptible in order to be registered. Each Party must provide protection for
trademarks, including protecting preexisting trademarks against infringement by later
geographical indications. Furthermore, the Chapter requires that the Parties provide
efficient and transparent procedures governing the application for protection of
trademarks and geographical indications. The Chapter also provides for rules on domain
name management that require a dispute resolution procedure to prevent trademark
cyber-piracy.

Copyright and Related Rights

Chapter Fourteen provides for broad protection of copyright and related rights, affirming
and building on rights set out in several international agreements. For instance, each
Party must provide copyright protection for the life of the author plus 70 years (for works
measured by a person's life), or 70 years (for corporate works). The Chapter clarifies that
the right to reproduce literary and artistic works, recordings, and performances
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encompasses temporary copies, an important principle in the digital realm. It also calls
for each Party to provide a right of communication to the public, which will further
ensure that right holders have the exclusive right to make their works available online.
The Chapter specifically requires protection for the rights of performers and producers of
phonograms.

To curb copyright piracy, Chapter Fourteen requires the governments to use only
legitimate computer software, setting an example for the private sector. The Chapter also
includes provisions on anti-circumvention, under which the Parties commit to prohibit
tampering with technology used to protect copyrighted works. In addition, Chapter
Fourteen sets out obligations with respect to the liability of Internet service providers in
connection with copyright infringements that take place over their networks. Finally,
recognizing the importance of satellite broadcasts, Chapter Fourteen ensures that each
Party will protect encrypted program-carrying satellite signals. It obligates the Parties to
extend protection to the signals themselves, as well as to the content contained in the
signals.

Patents

Chapter Fourteen also includes provisions for the protection of patents. The Parties may
only exclude inventions from patentability to protect public order or morality, including
to protect human, animal, or plant life or health or to avoid serious prejudice to the
environment. The Parties also may exclude from patentability animals and diagnostic,
therapeutic, and surgical procedures for the treatment of humans or animals. The Parties
also confirm the availability of patents for new uses or methods of using a known
product. To guard against arbitrary revocation of patents, each Party must limit the
grounds for revoking a patent to the grounds that would have justified a refusal to grant
the patent. The Chapter requires the Parties to provide for patent term adjustments to
compensate for unreasonable delays that occur while granting the patent, as well as for
unreasonable curtailment of the effective patent term as a result of the marketing
approval process for pharmaceutical products.

Certain Regulated Products

Chapter Fourteen includes specific measures relating to certain regulated products,

specifically pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals. The Parties must protect test
information regarding safety and efficacy submitted in seeking marketing approval for
such products by precluding other firms from relying on the information. It provides
specific periods for such protection – for example, five years for new pharmaceuticals
and 10 years for new agricultural chemicals. It also requires the Parties to adopt
measures to prevent the marketing of a pharmaceutical product during the term of a
patent covering that product.

Enforcement Provisions

Chapter Fourteen also creates obligations with respect to the enforcement of intellectual
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property rights. Among these, it requires the Parties, in determining damages, to take
into account the value of the legitimate goods as well as the infringer's profits. The
Chapter also provides for award of damages based on a fixed range (i.e., “statutory
damages”), on the election of the right holder in cases involving infringement of
copyright and related rights and trademark counterfeiting.

Chapter Fourteen provides that the Parties’ law enforcement agencies must have
authority to seize suspected pirated and counterfeit goods, the equipment used to make or
transmit them, and documentary evidence. Each Party must give its courts authority to
order the forfeiture and/or destruction of such items. Chapter Fourteen also requires each
Party to empower its law enforcement agencies to take enforcement action at the border
against pirated or counterfeit goods without waiting for a formal complaint. Chapter
Fourteen provides that each Party must apply criminal penalties against counterfeiting
and piracy, including end-user piracy.

Transition Periods

All provisions of the Chapter take effect when the Agreement enters into force.
However, the Kingdom of Bahrain is permitted up to one year after the Agreement enters
into force to ratify or accede to:
(1) the Brussels Convention; and
(2) the Budapest Treaty.

Side Letters

Two side letters to Chapter Fourteen provide additional clarifications with regard to
certain of the obligations with respect to intellectual property rights:

(1) regarding effective written notice to Internet service providers with respect to
materials that are claimed to be infringing a copyright; and
(2) regarding the manufacture of optical discs, including provisions concerning licensure,
registration, record keeping, and inspections.

Public Health

The FTA states that nothing in the intellectual property chapter affects any Party’s ability
to take any measures necessary to protect public health. In a separate side letter, the
Kingdom of Bahrain and the United States confirmed their understanding that the
Chapter does not “affect the ability of either Party to take necessary measures to protect
public health by promoting access to medicines for all, in particular concerning cases
such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other epidemics as well as circumstances
of extreme urgency or national emergency.
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4. Compare the Bahrain IPR with the GCC

Intellectual Property in Bahrain

General

While Bahrain does have laws pertaining to the protection of patents, trademarks and
copyrights, they are often considered inadequate by Western standards despite the fact
that Bahrain has recently ratified the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and
Artistic Works and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, and is
contemplating joining the Madrid Agreement regarding the International Registration of
Marks. Bahrain's intellectual property legislation includes the Copyright Law of 1993 and
the Patent, Design and Trademark Law of 1995. Notwithstanding the Copyright Law of
1993, works may be separately registered through a cumbersome and expensive process
with the Ministry of Information which grants greater protection to the creator of the
copyrighted material than the Copyright Law.

Patents and Designs

Patents

Patents, trademarks and designs are protected in Bahrain by virtue of the Patent, Design
and Trademark Law of 1995, as periodically amended. Protection is based on registration
at the Patents and Trademarks Registration Office.

If a registered patent or design is not used within two years of the filing date of the
application to register, third parties may apply to the court for the registration to be
revoked.

The validity of a patent registration is for fifteen years only. It can be renewed for five
years provided that the patent is of special significance and the income realized from it
during the original term is not reasonable relative to the expenses incurred. The other
procedures and protection regarding patents are similar to those of trademarks. One
exception is that registration of patents in Bahrain requires either a home registration or
any other foreign registration of the patent.

Designs

The validity of a design registration in Bahrain is for five years, renewable for two further
terms of five years each. The other procedures of registration are similar to those of
trademarks. One exception is that a design registration of designs in Bahrain requires
either a home registration or any other foreign registration of the design.

Trademarks
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According to the Patent, Design and Trademark Law, a trademark registration is valid for
ten years from the date of filing the application. Thereafter, a trademark registration is
renewable for periods of ten years each. Trademarks are defined as everything that takes
a distinctive form such as names, words, signatures, characters, number, drawings, etc., if
used in distinguishing products, goods or services.

Trademark rights are acquired by registration, however, a trademark application can be

opposed successfully upon producing sufficient proof of the prior use of the mark in
Bahrain and elsewhere around the world. Marks which are not renewed will be canceled
by the Commercial Registry. Unlawfully registered marks may be canceled by a court.

Once a trademark application is filed, the trademark is examined as to its registerability.

Trademark applications accepted by the Registrar are published in the Official Gazette.
There is a sixty-day period open for filing an opposition by any interested party. An
opposition to the registration of a trademark should be prosecuted before the Registrar by
an authorized agent or the proprietors themselves within the prescribed period as from the
date of publication. Such an opposition case is settled by the Registrar. In the absence of
opposition, a published trademark is registered, and the certificate of registration is
issued.

Use of trademarks in Bahrain is not compulsory for filing applications for registration nor
for maintaining trademark registrations in force. But a trademark is subject to
cancellation and may be canceled by any party who can establish that the trademark was
not actually used during the five years immediately preceding the application for
cancellation or that there was no bona fide intention of using the trademark on the goods
in respect of which the trademark was registered.

Unauthorized use of a trademark registered under the law or an imitation of such

trademark applied on goods of the same class, or sale, storing for the purpose of sale, or
exhibiting for sale of goods bearing a counmark, or using a mark duly registered under
the law by another person to serve the purpose of unauthorized promotion of goods of the
same class are offenses punishable under the law in Bahrain.

Copyright

The Copyright Law was introduced to Bahrain's legislative system in 1993. The
Copyright Law protects authors of intellectual property such as books, paintings,
photographs, cinematographic, radio and television works and personally created
computer software and databases and was enacted in order to combat pirating of
videotapes, audiotapes, artistic work and computer software.

Ministerial Order 4 of 1993 established a Copyright Protection Office in the Ministry of

Information. The Copyright Protection Office examines applications for copyright
protection, accepts the deposit of works after payment of fees, and registers the transfer
of copyrights. The Office is also responsible for examining international copyright
agreements and implementing those which Bahrain has executed.
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The Copyright Law applies to: (1) the works of Bahraini authors which are published for
the first time, whether in or outside of Bahrain; (2) works of foreign authors that are
published for the first time in Bahrain; and (3) works of Arab authors who are nationals
of a Member State that has ratified the Arab Copyright Protection Agreement of 1958 and
whose work is published for the first time in a Member State.

Copyright protection lapses, in general, fifty years after the death of the author or, in the
event of jointly owned intellectual property, fifty years after the death of the last
surviving author.

With respect to the following works, the protection lapses fifty calendar years after the
date of publication: (1) films, photographs and applied art; (2) works published under a
pseudonym; (3) works which belong to a corporate entity; and (4) works first published
after the author's death.

In the case of computer software, the copyright protection will lapse either fifty years
after the completion of the work or forty years from the date of publication, whichever is
earlier.

Intellectual Property In Saudi Arabia

General

Saudi law protects the rights of nationals and foreigners in the field of intellectual
property. Every natural or legal person that suffers injury resulting from trademark law
infringement may claim damages. Expert proceedings regarding the infringement are
permissible, and damages for trademark and patent infringements are punitive and
provide compensation for the injured.

Intellectual property rights are also indirectly protected by the provisions of the
Regulations for Combating of Commercial Fraud, which enable Saudi authorities to
impose numerous sanctions for the production of counterfeit products or unlicensed
copies of products, which include, inter alia, seizure and destruction of such products,
imposing monetary fined up to SR 100,000 for violation of the provisions of the
regulations.

The burden of proof in intellectual property cases lies with the plaintiff, and it is an
onerous responsibility, unless the unlawful products are seized. Under Saudi law,
documentary evidence does not supplant oral evidence, but the two combined may
support each other. In trademark cases, discovery may provide the injured party with
material and documentary evidence which alleviates the burden of proof.

Orders are enforced in respect of payment of money by effecting seizure against the party
losing the case. With regard to prohibitory injunctions and writs of mandamus, orders are
submitted to civil right directorates of the Interior Ministry to execute. Non-compliance
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with such orders may result in the imprisonment of the offender and the seizure of his
assets.

Patents

The Saudi Patent Regulations of 1989 established a patent registration system, covering
any new article, methods of manufacture (including improvements in either of them) and
product patents.

In 1996, the Saudi Patent Office granted its first patents since its establishment in 1990.

A patent may be granted to either Saudi or foreign citizens, including companies. Upon
compliance with the registration formalities, the application receives a filing number and
the filing date is secured. Patents are valid for fifteen Hijri years (a lunar year under
Islamic precepts) as from the date of grant and may be extended for an additional period
of five years.

The rights to a patent belong solely to the inventor, who may assign these rights with or
without consideration. An industrial patent must be exploited within two years as from
the date of grant, and if reasonable grounds are provided, this period may be extended for
another period not exceeding two years. Failure to exploit the patent within the relevant
period of time entitles the Patent Office to grant a compulsory license for exploiting the
patent to any person capable of fully exploiting it.

Patent cases are heard by an administrative commission which has legal competence.
This commission sits in the City of King Abdul Aziz for Science and Technology.
Decisions concerning patents may be contested by third parties within ninety days of the
announcement that a patent has been granted.

Trademarks and Service Marks

Trademarks and service marks registration is governed by the Trademarks Regulation of

1984. Saudi Arabia follows the International Classification of goods and services, but
subject to various limitations. For instance, trademarks regarding certain alcoholic goods
are not registerable. Additionally, registration applications may be rejected if the
trademark offends or is contrary to public morality.

A trademark/service mark application accepted for registration is published in the

Official Gazette (Ummulqura). If no opposition is filed within three months, the owner
would have an incontestable right to use the trademark/service mark for ten Hijri years as
of the date of filing the application. The registration of the trademark/service mark can be
renewed for additional periods of five Hijri years each. Use of trademarks in not
compulsory for purposes of registration or keeping registration in force. A
trademark/service mark may be canceled if it was not used for a period of five successive
years.
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Unauthorized use of a registered trademark/service mark, an imitation applied on goods

or with respect to services of the same class, storage, sale, exhibiting for sale or using the
trademark/service mark inthe course of unauthorized promotion are offenses punishable
under Saudi law by fines and imprisonment.

Infringement proceedings in relation to trademarks are heard by the Grievance Board.

Forged and imitated goods may be seized by the Commerce Ministry or its branches. If
civil proceedings in a trademark case are not initiated before the Grievance Board within
10 days, however, the precautionary proceedings shall become void. A public casemust
be heard within three years of the alleged offense having been committed. There is no
such limitation for private cases.

Decisions of the Trademark Office can be challenged through administrative judiciary

channels in the Commerce Ministry and legally before the Grievances Board. Applicants
or third parties that have an interest in objecting to a registration have the right to
challenge such decisions.

Designs

Saudi Arabia does not have a statutory design registration system in force. Protection is
thus limited and the only available means of protection is through publication of
cautionary notices in the Ummulqura or in local newspapers. These notices define the
owner's interest in the property, announce the ownership thereto and alert the public
against any possible infringement. Since cautionary notices are not covered by
regulations and are not registered with any government department, it is advisable to
republish such notices at frequent intervals.

Copyright

Following pressure from the US Special Trade Representative Office, Saudi Arabia
issued its Copyright Regulations in 1989. These Regulations are fairly limited in scope in
that they fail to protect foreign copyrights. Also the Regulations do not address
enforcement or registration procedures. It is notable that the United States has continued
to press for the amendment of the Regulations to cover foreign copyrights as well.

Saudi copyrights are generally protected for the life of the author plus fifty and twenty-
five years with respect to books and sound and audio visual works respectively. As to
computer software, while its protection seems explicit, the Regulations do not specify the
protection duration.