Trademark Protection in Oman: Registration and Infringement

A trademark is your product’s identity in the market, and its protection in Oman rests on registration under the Industrial Property Rights Law, Royal Decree 67/2008 — which grants the owner of a registered mark protection for ten years, renewable, and tools against counterfeiters. Said Ibrahim Ambusaidi Advocates (SIA), based in Al Khoudh, Muscat, handles trademark registration, oppositions, and infringement litigation.

Why is registration essential, and how does it work?

Registration is the title deed of the mark: it creates a legal presumption of your entitlement and allows you to prevent others from using an identical mark — or one so similar as to mislead the public — on similar goods. The application is filed with the Intellectual Property Department at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, specifying the mark and the classes of goods or services to be protected; the application then passes through examination, publication, and an opposition period before the registration certificate issues.

Before filing, it is wise to search for prior identical or similar marks: a refusal, or an opposition after publication, wastes time and fees that a prior search would have saved.

How long does protection last, and how can registration be cancelled?

Under Article 41 of the Industrial Property Rights Law, the term of trademark registration protection is ten years from the date the application was filed, renewable on request for similar terms upon payment of the prescribed fees — with a grace period for late renewal subject to a surcharge, failing which the mark is deemed expired.

Registration is not an absolute fortress, however. Under Article 42, any interested person may ask the court to cancel a trademark registration within five years from the date the registration certificate was issued — and at any time if the registration was obtained in bad faith or with intent to harm a registered mark. Registration is also exposed to cancellation in other cases the law sets out, such as absence of genuine use within the prescribed periods.

How do you confront counterfeiting and infringement?

The owner of a registered mark has escalating tools: a documented legal warning, which ends many infringements before court; a civil action to stop the infringement and recover compensation for the damage caused by counterfeiting or unauthorised use; the criminal route for the counterfeiting and fraud offences the law defines; and border measures with the customs authorities to seize counterfeit shipments. The claim grows stronger the better the use file is documented: invoices, advertising, and market presence establishing priority and repute.

Business owners should register their marks before entering the market, not after — and in the classes of their actual and future activity, since registration in one class does not automatically protect in another.

Key facts

• Trademark protection in Oman is governed by the Industrial Property Rights Law RD 67/2008, with registration at the Intellectual Property Department of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Protection runs ten years from the filing date and is renewable, under Article 41.
• Late renewal has a grace period with a surcharge, failing which the mark is deemed expired.
• An interested person may seek cancellation within five years of the certificate — at any time for bad-faith registration — under Article 42.
• Tools against infringement: warnings, actions for cessation and damages, the criminal route, and customs seizure.
• Registration protects in its registered classes; register in your actual and future classes of activity.

When to involve a lawyer

Before launching your mark, for searching and sound registration in the right classes. When you receive an opposition to your application or discover a similar earlier mark. And the moment you spot counterfeiting of your mark — swift documentation, a warning, then litigation settles the dispute before the counterfeiter takes root in the market and becomes hard to dislodge.

At Said Ibrahim Ambusaidi Advocates (SIA) we handle the trademark file in full: searching, registration and renewal, oppositions and cancellation actions, and infringement and compensation litigation before the courts across Oman. The first consultation is free by phone or WhatsApp on +968 9706 3030. We are based in Al Khoudh, Seeb, Muscat, and work Sunday to Thursday, 9:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:00, in Arabic and English.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice.