ALRAQABA . ISSUE 18 19 Legislations (global trademarks) is because they are more likely to be imitated or forged due to their good reputation in the market. -Trademark Protection Period Article (21) specified the protection period for registering a trademark, which is 10 years. The protection can be extended for a similar period if the owner applied for an extension during the last year of the protection period, without the need for further examination, and regardless of any objections made by third parties. -Trademark Registration Objections Should the competent authority (The Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Kuwait) approve the registration of a trademark, it must be published in the official gazette according to the executive regulations of this Law. Any concerned party may, within 60 days from the date of publication, submit an objection to the registration of said mark, provided that it is in writing. Otherwise, the competent authority may follow through with the registration procedures. In this case, the objector would only have the option to appeal against the registration decision within 30 days from the date of notification of rejecting the objections. Another way to protect trademarks is that the competent authority or any concerned party may apply to cancel the registration of a trademark if the trademark was unlawfully registered, without consideration to the elapsed time since the date of registration. -Penalties Imposing penalties is necessary to ensure the respect of the law. Articles (39) and (40) of this Law state the applicable penalties in case of breaching the provisions of this Law by way of imitation or forgery. They are as follows: 1. A sentence of imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years and/or a fine not exceeding one million Saudi Riyals or its equivalent in other GCC currencies shall be imposed on any person convicted of the following: - Forging or imitating a trademark registered under this Law in a manner that would mislead the public, or using in bad faith a forged or imitated mark. 2.A sentence of imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years and/or a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand Saudi Riyals or its equivalent in other GCC currencies shall be imposed on any person convicted of the following: - Knowingly selling, offering for sale or trading, or possessing with the intention of trading any goods bearing false or imitated marks. - Knowingly possessing tools or material intended to be used in the imitation of registered or famous trademarks.
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