Designs and Models
Legal Basis
– Patents and Industrial Designs Law No. 65 of 1970, Iraq Government Gazette No. 1865 of April 6, 1970, last amended by Order No. 81 of 2004.
– First amendment, published in the Official Journal on September 6, 1999, under Law No. 28 of 1999.
Membership in International Conventions
– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since January 21, 1976.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since January 24, 1976.
Filing, Protection
Territory covered: the whole territory of Iraq.
Applicant: any owner regardless of his nationality or his agent.
Form: every application for industrial designs should be submitted independently.
Publication and granting: after the design is accepted by the Registrar, it is published in the Official Gazette. If there is no opposition within ninety days from publication, the applicant obtains a certificate of registration.
Duration of protection: ten years as of the date of issuing the certificate, on condition of payment of annual fees.
Assignment: assignment of industrial designs are not binding upon third parties before after registration.
Infringement: see under “Patents“.
Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Name, address, nationality and occupation of the applicant;
2. Power of attorney with eight-point boycott questionnaire concerning the Israel boycott (legalized up to the Iraqi Consulate);
3. 8 copies of a short description of the design;
4. 8 copies of its drawings and outlines;
5. 2 miniature models of the design applied for registration.
Notes: if the above documents are in a language other than Arabic, a certified translation must accompany them. All required documents may be submitted within six months from the filing date, which is strictly non-extendible. Failing to submit the required documents within the time limit will cause the design application to be rejected and nullified by the Registry.