Patent registration in Iraq. Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in Western Asia. Iraq’s economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. With its 143.1 billion barrels (2.275×1010 m3) of proved oil reserves, Iraq ranks third in the world behind Venezuela and Saudi Arabia in the number of oil reserves. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of patent registration in Iraq.
Necessary documents for patent registration in Iraq
The necessary documents for patent registration in Iraq include:
- The request to grant a patent (patent application);
- Detailed information on the applicant(s) including the applicant’s and inventor’s names, addresses, citizenships, etc.;
- A description of the invention;
- A signed and stamped power of attorney by the applicant(s);
- A copy of the amendments (if any);
- Priority documents (if any).
- Other required documents.
The procedure for patent registration in Iraq
To obtain a patent in Iraq, the applicant needs to apply their patent application to the IP Office of Iraq.
At the IP Office, the patent application will be examined in formality with respect to compliance with the formalities and patentability provided for under the patent law.
If there are errors, the Office will provide the applicants with an official notice and time to make amendments to the application.
If the applicant doesn’t respond or doesn’t make amendments to comply with the requirements of the IP Office within the stipulated time, the patent application will be treated as renounced.
If there are no errors, a grant decision will be published publicly, normally within 2 to 3 years from the filing date.
Grant and annuities
A patent in Iraq is valid for 20 years starting from the date of completing the application submitted to the Patent Office, also known as the filing date.
To maintain the validity, the patentee will need to pay the annual fees every year on the anniversary date of the filing date. However, payment of annuities may not be made to the IP Office except after the grant of the patent.
Notes need to know about the patent in Iraq
In Iraq, once the applicant has been granted the patent, he/she will have full exclusive rights over the patent on activities such as manufacturing, selling, publicizing, etc.
It should be noted that if the patentee wants to assign these rights over the patent to another party, the assignment of granted patents must be made in writing. An assignment shall have no effect against third parties, unless it has been published in the Official Gazette, and duly entered in the relevant records of the Patent Office.
In addition, besides the maintenance fee, the patentee must also satisfy the using requirement of the patent law in Iraq.
This means that the patentee must use the patent for at least 3 consecutive years from the grant date.
If the use of the invention ceases for 2 consecutive years, the patent will be subject to compulsory licensing under the provisions of the law.
You can see a list of Iraq IP firms here.