INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN YEMEN
Opposition Term |
90 Days |
Registration Term |
10 Years |
First Renewal Term |
10 Years |
Subsequent Renewal Term |
10 Years |
A new Law No. 23 of 2010 related to Trademarks and Geographical Indications has been issued in Yemen along with its Implementing Regulations.
For getting a trademark registered in Yemen, an application has to be filed with the Trademark Office, which administers the entire trademark registration process.
Yemen follows the 10th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are not acceptable.
Yemen follows the ‘first-to-file’ system.
The third parties can file opposition actions against a trademark application within ninety (90) days following its publication date in the official gazette.
The validity of a trademark registration term is ten (10) years from the date of application, which is further renewable indefinitely for similar periods of ten (10) years each. The renewal application should be submitted within the last year of the current validity term. The trademark law provides for a period of twelve (12) months for late renewal of a trademark without the payment of any lateness fine.
The grace period for the renewal of a trademark registration has been increased to twelve (12) months without the payment of any lateness fine.
Use of trademarks in the Republic of Yemen is not compulsory for filing applications or for maintaining the trademark registrations in force. However, a trademark is vulnerable to cancellation upon the request of any interested party who can establish that the trademark had not actually been used during the five (05) years immediately preceding the application for cancellation or that there was no bona fide use of the trademark on the goods concerning which the trademark was registered.
Yemen is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
A new Law No. 2 of 2011 related to Patents, Utility Models, Integrated Circuits, and Trade Secrets has been issued in Yemen.
For seeking patent protection in Yemen, an application has to be filed with the Patent Office, which administers the entire process of patent grant.
In Yemen, an invention that satisfies the conditions of originality, novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability, subjects to patentability. Process patent and product patent are the two types of patents that can be protected.
The types of patent applications that can be filed include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
An application that has been published in the Official Gazette can be opposed by any interested third party within ninety (90) days from publication, noting that the opposition decision can also be appealed with the Commercial Court within thirty (30) days from receiving the decision.
The term of protection has been increased to twenty (20) years calculated from the filing date. Annuities should be paid annually, and a patent application will be considered as lapsed in case of non-payment of the annuities within the legal term.
Law No. 28 of 2010 on Industrial Designs governs and deals with the mechanism of registration of industrial designs in Yemen.
The request for registration of the industrial design needs to be presented to the Registrar in writing who administers the entire process of registration.
The types of industrial design applications that can be filed in Yemen include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
Utility model protection isn't provided under industrial design protection in the nation. However, it can be granted under the Patent Act for a term of seven (07) years.
Opposition cannot be filed by a third party in Yemen during the industrial design registration process.
The validity term of an industrial design registered in Yemen is ten (10) years from the filing date, which can’t be renewed further.
There is no grace period to renew a registered industrial design.
Yemen is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
In Yemen, copyright comes into existence as soon as the work is created. No formality is required to be done for obtaining copyright protection. However, authors or owners of related rights may, in accordance with the regulation, deposit a work, phonogram, radio, or TV program by submitting to the competent department to obtain a depositing certificate, which shall be the proof of copyright in that work.
The author’s financial rights are protected throughout his or her life and for fifty (50) years following his or her death.
The financial rights of works of applied art and photography are protected for twenty-five (25) years starting from the beginning of the Gregorian year following the achievement of the work.
The term of protection of financial rights of performers is fifty (50) years starting from the beginning of the Gregorian year following the occurrence of the live performance or following the first fixation of the work in a phonogram.
The term of protection of the financial rights of producers of phonograms is fifty (50) years starting from the beginning of the Gregorian year following the first publication of the phonogram. In the case of non-publication during fifty (50) years from the date of the first fixation of the phonogram, the protection starts from the beginning of the Gregorian year following the first fixation.
The term of protection of financial rights of broadcast organizations is twenty (20) years starting from the Gregorian year following the first broadcast of the program.