In the application of the provisions of this Law, the following terms shall have the meanings assigned to them next to each, unless the context requires otherwise:
1/1 - Cooperation Council: The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf.
1/2 - Law: The Patent Law of the Cooperation Council.
1/3 - Patent: The document granted by the office to the owner of the invention to enjoy legal protection for their invention in any of the member states of the Cooperation Council in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

1/4 - Committee for Trade Cooperation: The ministers concerned with trade affairs in the member states of the Cooperation Council.

5/1 - Committee: The Appeals Committee formed by the Committee for Trade Cooperation to exercise its powers as stipulated in this Law and the Implementing Regulation.
1/6 - Office: The Patent Office at the General Secretariat of the Cooperation Council.
1/7 - Competent Authority: The Ministry, authority, administration, or national office responsible for patent affairs in each of the member states of the Cooperation Council.

8/1 - Implementing Regulation: The regulation issued in implementation of the provisions of this Law.

1 Repeat 1 - The office shall receive patent applications or examine them or grant patents based on the request of any of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and recourse to the office is optional for any of the GCC countries.

1 Repeat 2 - In the event that the GCC countries choose the office to act on their behalf in receiving the application, examining it, or granting the patent, they shall notify the General Secretary of the GCC accordingly. This notice shall specify the extent of partial or total benefit from the services of the office, and the GCC countries shall apply their national legislation to patent applications in aspects where they do not wish to benefit from the services of the office.

1 Repeat 3 - If any of the GCC countries chooses the office to receive a patent application, the office must refer it to the competent authority to take the necessary procedures in accordance with the national legislation of the state.

1 Repeat 4 - The office may not grant a patent except after the approval of the state or states that have chosen it to act on their behalf in granting the patent, in accordance with the procedures specified by the Implementing Regulation. In all cases, the patent shall only be valid in those states.

1 Repeat 5 - The office shall issue a circular in the official bulletin listing the names of the GCC countries and the services provided by the office on their behalf, along with any updates that may occur.

• 3.1 In the application of this Law, the following shall not be deemed inventions:

  • 3.1.1 Discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, and computer programs.

  • 3.1.2 Schemes, rules, and methods of doing business, performing purely mental acts, and playing games.

  • 3.1.3 Plants, animals, and biological processes used to produce plants or animals, excluding microbiological processes and products thereof.

  • 3.1.4 Surgical, therapeutic, and diagnostic methods used in the treatment of humans or animals, excluding products used in such methods.

• 3.2 This Law shall not protect plant varieties and animal species.

The Commercial Cooperation Committee may exempt certain inventions from obtaining a patent when necessary to protect the public order or public morals, including the protection of human, animal, or plant life or health, or to avoid severe harm to the environment.

• 5.1.1 An application to obtain a patent shall, upon payment of the prescribed fees, be submitted to the Office by the inventor, his authorized agent, or the holder of the invention rights.

• 5.1.2 The application shall include the names of the applicant, the inventor, and the authorized agent, if any, together with a statement justifying the applicant's right to the invention if he is not the inventor.

• 5.1.3 The application shall claim one invention only or integrated parts which form a single general innovative concept.

• 5.2.1 The application shall include the name and description of the invention, abstract, claim(s), and illustrations, if any.

• 5.2.2 The description shall depict the invention in a clear manner to enable a professional in the field to implement it.

• 5.2.3 Claims shall define the subject-matter for which protection is sought. The description and illustrations may be used to explain such claims when necessary.

• 5.2.4 Claims shall be clear, concise, and entirely based on description.

• 5.2.5 The abstract shall be used for technical information purposes only and shall not be used to interpret the claims of the application.

• 5.3 The applicant shall provide the Office with additional relevant information and data when requested.

• 5.4 The applicant may amend his application as he deems fit, provided the changes made to the information included in the original application are not substantial.

• If the applicant does not reside in a GCC country, he shall appoint an authorized agent residing in any of the GCC countries to represent him before the Office.

• 7.1 The patent application may include a claim for priority on an application previously submitted in any country or regional office. In this case, the application shall indicate the date and number of the previous application and the country where it was submitted, and a proof thereof shall be submitted in accordance with the Implementing Regulations; otherwise, the applicant’s right to priority shall be forfeited.

• 7.2 The period of priority shall be 12 Gregorian calendar months.

• The applicant may withdraw his application at any time unless a final decision is made thereon. Application withdrawal shall not entail the right to recover the application documents, fees, or expenses.

1/9 - The office, upon receiving patent applications on behalf of any of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and after ensuring that the conditions stipulated in the Law and the Implementing Regulation are met, shall record the date of submission of the application.

2/9 - The office shall examine the application formally or substantively on behalf of any of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries that have chosen the office to conduct the examination or refer it to one of the accredited entities to do so, after the substantive examination fees have been paid.