MEC opens online application for patents

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) has launched “online application for patents” through its website.The service is available for the public, and the agents of intellectual property rights. “Through this service the applicant can submit the application electronically and it would be checked online as well to accomplish the necessary procedures in the shortest possible time,” MEC said. To be issued a patent the invention should be original and new, with no previous history of application for the same whether inside or outside the country, whether in part, of as a whole. It should be also “industrially implementable” whether through material products, industrial processes or the method of manufacture. Besides, the invention should be innovative and unknown to the specialists in its field. MEC says applicants could log on https://services.me.gov.qa , then the user register his entry on the system, and determine the type of his request;  the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), or the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (WIPO), and fill in the form. The name of the invention and inventor should be supplied in addition, its main details and information of the agent (if available). These will be accompanied by the necessary attachments. The application will be checked accordingly to see whether all the necessary information and requirements are all supplied with the possibility of going back to the applicant. When the set fees are paid successfully, a confirmation email will be sent to the applicant including the application number and the necessary requirements that should be supplied within the grace period, alongside the date for paying the annual renewal fees.MEC stressed the importance of patent registration in keeping the legal rights of the inventors and patent owner. Regarding the patent registration fees, it is free for students, QR1,000 for individuals, QR2,000 for educational and research institutes, and QR2,000 for companies and organisations. The fees for technical inspection of the invention are QR100 for students, QR2,500 for individuals, QR5,000 for educational and research institutes and QR5,000 for companies and organisations.Such initiative is meant to make MEC services easily accessible for the public, in addition to speeding up the related processes.