The Intellectual Property Department (IPD) at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Qatar has announced updates regarding the validity of Powers of Attorney (POA) for intellectual property work. POAs will now have a validity period of 3 years from the date of issuance. The date of issuance will depend on where the original POA was executed. For POAs executed in Qatar, the issuance date will be the notarization date. For POAs issued outside Qatar, the issuance date will be the notarization date at Notary public and in some cases the date of execution at the Qatar Consulates.
Whether or not the POA specifies an expiration date, it will become invalid 3 years after its issuance. This recent update means that any existing POAs passing the validity period of 3 years ago will no longer be valid.
New POAs will need to be executed. Furthermore, new POAs must be super legalized up to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Qatar.
The validity of POAs will be based on the type of POAs (issued in Qatar or outside of Qatar):
- POAs issued in Qatar:
These POAs are issued by the Notary Publics or staff or the Qatar Ministry of Justice (MOJ). If the POA is more than three years old, then the attorney (agent/attorney executed for) needs to get MOJ confirmation that it is still valid and it was not revoked and in this case with the additional MOJ confirmation, the power can remain valid.
- POAs issued outside Qatar:
Those POAs should be notarized and legalised by Qatar embassies abroad, then be super legalized by Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Qatar.
Clients and trade mark agents should review the validity of existing POAs and obtain new ones for clients with expired or soon-to-expire (within six months) powers if they have pending matters. For registered marks in Qatar, updating the POA will not be a priority unless there is a potential opposition or further action required.
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.