Boycott Declaration for International TM & Patent Applications No Longer Required in Syria
27 Nov 2005DAMASCUS - The Syrian Prime Minister Muhammad Naji Al-Otari issued a decision on October 20, 2005, stipulating that all companies unlisted on the Boycott Black List are no longer required to submit a boycott declaration when registering international applications for trademarks and patents in Syria.
Due to the fact that Syria is currently a member in the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), foreign companies were exempted from this requirement when filing international applications in Syria, according to a press release by Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP).
According to the current applicable procedures in Syria, applications accepted by the Registrar at the Proprietary Protection Department (PPD) are referred to the Boycott Department to clear the applicant company name. In case of the first-time applicant who has no prior clearing approval and prior registration, a boycott declaration is requested from the applicant. Once the clearing approval is obtained, the application progresses to registration.
Major IP agents, including AGIP, held a meeting to discuss the implications of this decision on trademark registrations in Syria. The agents drafted a memorandum to be submitted to the Minister of Economy and Trade calling on the Prime Minister to include all foreign companies – unlisted on the black list- in the aforementioned decision whether their applications were submitted according to the international treaties or through local agents.
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