Kuwait: Patent Protection via GCC patent office

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Trade and Industry approved Law no. 115 of 2016 on the regulations implementing patent Law no. 71 of 2013. The new Law was published on April 3, 2016 and went into effect the following day.

Accordingly, the Kuwaiti Patent Law and regulations which are in force as of April 4, 2016 are the GCC Patent Law and its Implementing Regulations, respectively. Indeed, Kuwaiti Law no. 71 of 2013 is the GCC Patent Law, while Kuwaiti Law no. 115 of 2016 is the regulations implementing the GCC Patent Law.

Furthermore, the Kuwaiti Patent Office stopped accepting new patent applications as of April 4, 2016. It is advising parties interested in seeking patent protection in Kuwait to utilize the GCC regional patent office. As a reminder, a GCC patent application automatically designates all six GCC member countries, and no further validation is required upon grant.

Given that Kuwait recently issued a law (Law no. 11/2016) paving the way for the country’s accession to the PCT, we expect more news to come out of the country with regards to its patent system.