Doha, February 29 (QNA) - The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) revealed statistics for intellectual property rights protection services during 2023, indicating that the number of patent applications filed locally (PCT) reached 115, while the number of applications for filing a trademark (local) reached 232 applications.

In recent data published on the X platform on Thursday related to the Commerce Affairs Sector, the MOIC added that the number of brand and trademark applications (external) reached 1,352, number of applications to declare a brand and trademark reached 1,861, number of registered brand and trademarks reached 1,387, number of renewed brands and trademarks reached 1,060, number of brands and trademarks with transferred ownership reached 243, and number of copyright applications reached 55.

MOIC said that in the field of the protection of intellectual property rights, the State of Qatar attained the presidency of the Technical Committee for Intellectual Property within the Arab League during the 10th meeting of the Technical Committee for Intellectual Property. In addition, approval was granted for the Gulf legislation package for brands and trademarks.

On facilitating and streamlining transaction procedures, MOIC affirmed its keenness to complete its journey towards digital transformation, noting the announcement of suspending 9 services at government service complexes, as they are now available online through the single window platform.

MOIC announced its implementation of periodic inspections of commercial companies, which resulted in 549 administrative penalties and 25 financial penalties. In addition, 93 companies were inspected, and 8 companies faced penalties. Auditors conducted 14 inspection visits.

MOIC, in collaboration with the Ministries of Labour, Justice, and Interior, introduced a package of new services to expand the scope of single-window services and simplify company registration procedures, which started on June 18, 2023. (QNA)