On July 29, 2021, the Emir issued a significant new legislation, namely, FIFA IP Law No. 11 of 2021 on the Protection of Trademarks, Copyrights and Related Rights of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ("FIFA"). The Law is an essential legislation key to Qatar hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022.
The FIFA IP Law provides substantial protection for FIFA's intellectual property rights by easing and simplifying the registration of such material with the Intellectual Property Rights Protection Department ("Department") at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and by recognizing that FIFA's trademarks are "well-known" trademarks and are therefore protected under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883) to which the State of Qatar is a signatory.
Further, the FIFA IP Law governs processes relating to (i) FIFA
inquiries regarding existing intellectual property registered with
the Department, (ii) registering FIFA's intellectual property
with the Department, whether directly by FIFA or by a delegate
(provided that the delegation instrument is duly attested), (iii)
appealing the Department's decision should an application for
intellectual property registration submitted by FIFA be rejected,
and (iv) any objections by third parties to the Department's
decision approving the registration of FIFA's intellectual
property, after publishing the same in the Gazette.
The Department's responsibilities with respect to registering
FIFA's intellectual property are also set out in the FIFA IP
Law, which provides for accelerated registration and decision
timings. The Department is also required to notify FIFA should it
become aware of a third party's application for registering a
similar or identical trademark or one including indications that
may lead to public confusion regarding whether the trademark is
related to FIFA. The Department must also inform FIFA of its
decision to reject such an application within 10 days from the
decision's issuance.
Under the FIFA IP Law, FIFA is exempted from submitting the
statement required by Article 45 of Law No. 7 of 2002 on the
Protection of Copyright and Related Rights which stipulates that an
applicant should submit related material with the intellectual
property registration application, such as the name of the author
or authors in respect of joint works or the name of any owner of
related rights, the subject matter of the work or subject matter of
the related rights, a written statement by the authors of the
ownership of a work, or any related right and rights conferred on
them.
FIFA is also exempt from paying registration fees in respect of
its trademarks, works, audio recordings, performer's rights,
and radio broadcasts.
With regard to any subject matter not dealt with under the FIFA IP
Law, the provisions of Law No. 7 of 2002 on the Protection of
Copyright and Related Rights and Law No. 9 of 2002 on Trademarks,
Commercial Data, Trade Names, Geographical Indications and
Industrial Designs, will apply.
The FIFA IP Law came into force on September 8, 2021,
complementing the FIFA Enabling Law No. 10 of 2021.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
