Summary
Industrial Designs Law No. 9 of 2002 was issued on June 8, 2002 and published in the Official Gazette in Qatar, but the Implementing Regulations have not yet been issued.
As there are no statutory design laws in force in Qatar, the only available means for protecting designs is publishing cautionary notices in Arabic and English in local newspapers.
Cautionary notices define the owner's interest in industrial property, announce the ownership thereto, and alert the public against any possible infringement. Such publication of notices could be of considerable assistance in case of litigation.
There is no standing regulation as to when a cautionary notice should be republished. A cautionary notice is not as effective as a registration and is not deposited with any government department. Consequently, republication of cautionary notices at reasonable intervals acts as a reminder to the public and helps ward off eventual infringers.