Summary
A new law, under No. 8 of 2007, was enacted in Syria for Distinctive Marks, Geographical Indications and Industrial Drawings and Designs. The law entered into force on April 12 and its Implementing Regulations were issued on April 15, 2007.
The Property Protection Office may request in writing the applicant to include any conditions or amendments to clarify the industrial drawing/design in a manner that prevents confusion with another right previously registered, or for which an application for registration was filed. The amendment should be made within 3 months from the date of notification.
The applicant, whose application was rejected or suspended pending certain conditions or amendments, may object in writing to the decision of the Property Protection Office mentioned to the competent ad hoc committee within 30 days from the date on which the decision was served to him in writing, in return for payment of the assigned fee.
If the ad hoc committee rejects the applicant's objection, the applicant can appeal before the competent court within 30 days from the date on which the ad hoc committee's decision has been served to him in writing.
Accepted applications fulfilling the stipulated requirements shall be published in the property protection journal for opposition by the public.
Any interested party may object in writing to the application for the registration of an industrial drawing/design to the Property Protection Office after payment of the specified fee within 90 days of the date of publication. The Property Protection Office shall inform the applicant or his agent of the objection during period of 30 days from the date of receipt.
The applicant or his agent shall submit to the Property Protection Office a written and grounded response to that objection within 30 days from the date of being informed of the objection. Otherwise, the applicant shall be considered as waived his application.
The Property Protection Office shall issue a grounded decision on the objection either accepting or rejecting the registration, after studying the documents submitted by the parties of the dispute and hearing their arguments. The Office may include in its acceptance a decision that obliges the applicant to implement the requirements, as it deems necessary for the registration of an industrial drawing/design. The Property Protection Office shall notify both parties of its decision.
The Property Protection Office's decision can be appealed before the ad hoc committee within 30 days from the date of notification. The decision of the ad hoc committee may be appealed before the competent court within 30 days from the date of notification.
During the prosecution of the application, the Israel-Boycott Bureau may request from the first-time applicant a boycott declaration. This document is to be submitted only when it is actually requested. If the boycott declaration is not submitted when requested, the application will not turn to registration procedures. In case the applicant has prior registrations and a preceding clearing approval in Syria, then it would be possible to waive the request of this declaration. In this case, kindly provide us with the data of the previous registration(s) to include the same in our application.