Trademark registration in the GCC countries

No single Gulf trademark

The GCC Trademark Law aligns the member states’ rules, but it did not create one register. Owners still file separately in each GCC country, and each office examines the mark under its own practice and fees.

Which GCC states are in the Madrid System

With a home application or registration, one international (Madrid) application can designate the five member states.

Madrid or national filings?

• Madrid: one application, one language and one fee schedule — good for several countries at once.
• National filings: needed for Kuwait, and sometimes preferred to handle local objections or Arabic versions directly.

Most owners start with the UAE (the region’s busiest market) and add the others as they expand.

Questions