The Trademark Office at the Qatari Ministry of Commerce and Industry has recently introduced temporary operational measures following its transition to remote working arrangements. These changes have affected several trademark-related administrative procedures and deadlines. During the remote working period, the Trademark Office temporarily suspended the issuance of physical receipts for a number of trademark procedures where payments are normally made manually at the Ministry’s counter. This suspension applies to actions such as: Trademark publication, Opposition filings, Trademark registrations and Trademark renewals.
Under the temporary protocol, the relevant trademark action is deemed completed once the required payment has been made, even though a physical receipt may not be issued immediately.
The Office has confirmed that additional grace periods will be granted for deadlines that expire during the remote working phase. The precise duration of these extensions is expected to be announced in a subsequent official communication. Despite the procedural adjustments, certain filings must still be submitted within the standard time limits. In particular: Counterstatements in opposition proceedings and Responses to trademark or patent office actions. These documents must be submitted electronically via the designated official email addresses to ensure they are properly recorded within the applicable deadlines.
In a more recent announcement, the Qatari Trademark Office confirmed that it has resumed accepting payments for certain trademark procedures in order to reduce disruptions for rights holders and practitioners. The Office will now accept payments related to: Trademark renewals, Trademark publications and Trademark registrations.
This applies specifically to matters with deadlines falling on or before 17 March 2026.
The measure aims to facilitate the processing of pending matters while the authorities continue to manage the current operational adjustments.
For guidance on trademark situations across the MENA region, please contact us at [email protected] or visit www.atb-ip.com for further information about our intellectual property services.