Summary
Patent law has not come into force in Afghanistan so far, and it is expected to come in force within the next 6 to 12 months. Unfortunately, at present there is a legal vacuum in this field. Hence, it is not possible to file patent applications in Afghanistan at present.
At present, as the only available way of protection and to provide relatively a remedy for the said legal vacuum, we advise all our clients to publish a Cautionary Notice in the local Newspaper(s) in the English Language.
The Cautionary Notice stating that such and such invention related to a particular matter belongs to such and such inventors/company. Although the publications of cautionary notices are not registered in any official registers, and it is only an advertisement but it could be a base for claiming priority right in the future when the patent law comes in force in the country. Therefore the publication should be in detail, and not in a short form. If it is published in short form, it may not serve the priority purposes.
There are no specific requirements for publication of Cautionary Notices in Afghanistan, however the basic information needed are as follows:
1. Full name and address of the applicant(s);
2. Full name and address of the inventor(s);
3. Softcopy of the specification;
4. Softcopy of the drawings;
5. Softcopy of the claims; and
6. Softcopy of Abstract.
Our charges for Publication of a Cautionary Notice in Afghanistan as follows:
ITEMS CHARGES IN (USD)
Publication of Cautionary Notice in a daily newspaper
(Main News Page - Quarter Page) 345.00
Publication of Cautionary Notice in a daily newspaper
(Main News Page - Half Page) 690.00
Publication of Cautionary Notice in a daily newspaper
(Main News Page - Full Page) 1370.00