Syria - Registration of Trademarks

Newsletters and Bulletins / July 1997 / Syria

Syria - New Resolution Affecting the Registration of Trademarks

The Minister of Supply and Internal Trade has issued a Resolution containing provisions for the registration of trademarks in Syria aimed at clarifying certain ambiguities in the law. The principal changes are summarized below.

1) The term of the registration runs from the date on which the application was filed with the Trademark Office.

2) Trademarks covered by expired registrations may not be re-registered by a third party until 3 years have elapsed following the expiration of the registration.

3) Names of famous historic figures may be registered as trademarks.

4) Marks may not be registered if they are:

(a) confusingly similar to a famous mark;

(b) geographical names or appellations of origin;

(c) colors, unless distinctively combined;

(d) words expressing superlative meaning;

(e) inherited titles of royalty or nobility, e.g. king, prince, if their use could exaggerate the value of the products concerned; and

(f) words that could exaggerate the value of a product, e.g. modern, advanced.

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