Legal victory as court orders registration of “Noq” trademark for Bahraini company

TDT | Manama 

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The High Administrative Court has overturned the Ministry of Industry and Commerce’s decision to refuse the registration of the “Noq” (camel) trademark for a Bahraini company.

The court ordered the ministry to register the trademark in the company’s name and pay the associated fees, expenses, and legal fees.

The company’s lawyer, Ibtisam Al Sabbagh, explained that her client owned the “Noq” trademark and had applied to the ministry to register it under the Classification of Goods and Services.

However, the ministry rejected the application, arguing that the mark was descriptive and lacked distinctiveness, as it is the common name for meat products in this category.

Conflict

The ministry also cited a conflict with Article 3(1) of Law No. 6 of 2014, which approves the Law for Trademarks. The company appealed the decision, but the appeal was rejected.

It then challenged the decision in court. Al Sabbagh referred to Article 2 of the Law for Trademarks of the GCC countries, which states: “A trademark is anything that takes a distinctive form of names, words, signatures, letters, symbols, numbers, titles, seals, drawings, images, engravings, packaging, graphic elements, shapes, colors, color combinations, or a mixture thereof, or any sign or group of signs if it is used or intended to be used to distinguish the goods or services of an establishment from the goods or services of other establishments or to indicate the performance of a service, or to carry out the monitoring or inspection of goods or services. A sound or scent mark may be considered a trademark.”

Al Sabbagh argued that the contested trademark had been registered in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman.

Image

Additionally, similar trademarks based on the same concept had been registered in Bahrain, including trademarks featuring the image of a camel.

The court noted in its judgment that the trademark in its entirety, without considering each word in isolation, displayed a unique character independent of other trademarks, due to its writing style, design, and the image of a camel.

“This distinctiveness would not mislead consumers,” the court stated.

The court further emphasised its view by pointing out the acceptance of the trademark’s registration in several GCC countries, as evidenced by the registration certificates attached to the lawsuit.

Concept

The court also noted the company’s claim that the defendant had previously approved the registration of trademarks with the same concept, a claim that the defendant did not contest.

The court concluded that the contested decision was not based on a sound basis in fact or law and should be annulled.

It ruled to overturn the decision regarding the rejection of the company’s appeal for trademark registration, with all the ensuing consequences, including the continuation of the registration process for the trademark under the company’s name in the defendant’s records.

The court also ordered the defendant to pay the fees, expenses, and legal fees.