The Omani Patent Office and the Egyptian Patent Office signed an agreement on September 10, 2014 in which the two offices will work together towards the development of capabilities at the Omani PO.  The Egyptian PO will also act as the examining office for all pending and new patent applications filed in Oman. The Egyptian PO is the only Arab office that serves as an International Search Authority, as well as an International Preliminary Examination Authority.

The expected procedure in brief is as follows: upon passing examination as to form, the examination fees will become due per a notice from the patent office. Following examination and upon acceptance, the application will be published in the Official Gazette. There will be an opposition period of four months, after which, assuming no opposition is filed, the application will be granted and the granted patent will be re-published in the Official Gazette and the related registration certificate (Letters Patent) will be issued.

The official fees related to this new procedure will be officially published and the examination process further described as soon as certain additional steps have been completed. Approval from the World Intellectual Property Organization, as well as the finalization of certain formalities between the two offices is still pending. We will remain monitoring the situation and provide further updates as they unfold.