WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/Q/QAT/1/Add.1 
IP/Q2/QAT/1/Add.1 
IP/Q3/QAT/1/Add.1 IP/Q4/QAT/1/Add.1 
14 December 2005 
 
(05-5976) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
  
REVIEW OF LEGISLATION 
 
QATAR 
 
Addendum
 
  
 The present document reproduces further responses by the delegation of Qatar to the 
questions put to it in the review of Qatar's legi slation at the Council's meeting of 25 to 27 June 2002.
1 
  
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  I. RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS POSED BY  THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND 
THEIR MEMBER STATES 
G. L
AYOUT -DESIGNS (TOPOGRAPHIES ) OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS  
39. Please describe how your legislation protects topographies. 
 Article 2 of Law No. 6 of 2005, states that "[t] he ownership of the topography shall vest in its 
inventor." It also states that "if the topography was invented based on an order or contract, the 
ownership of the topography shall vest in the person who issued th e order or the client, unless the 
order or the contract stipulates otherwise."  
40. Please explain what protection your national legislation grants to right holders against 
the unlawful importation, sale or distribut ion for commercial purposes of topographies 
including integrated circuits or other articles  in which a topography is incorporated in 
accordance with Article 36 of the TRIPS Agreement. 
 Article 3 of the same Law prohibits: 
 
"1. The copying of an entire topography or any part thereof either by embodying in an 
integrated circuit or otherwise, other than copying any unoriginal part. 
 2. To import, sell or distribute the topography or the integrated circuit embodied in it or 
in the commodity where the integrated circ uit has been embodied, as long as it contains a 
topography which has been unlawfully copied." 
                                                     
 
1 The minutes of this meeting have been circulated as document IP/C/M/36/Add.1. IP/Q/QAT/1/Add.1, IP/Q2/QAT/1/Add.1,  
IP/Q3/QAT/1/Add.1, IP/Q4/QAT/1/Add.1 Page 2 
 
 
 41. Please explain how your legislation provides for the derogation from Article 36 as 
specified in Article 37 of the TRIPS Agreement where a person has no knowledge or reasonable grounds to know when acquiring an integrated circuit or an article incorporating such an integrated circuit that it contains an unlawful topography. 
 Article 4 of the same law states that: 
 
"The following utilizations of designs shall be deemed lawful, even it they are not accompanied by the consent of the topography owners: 1. ………………… 
 2………………….. 
3.  If the person concerned has no knowledge or reasonable grounds to know when acquiring 
an integrated circuit or an article incorporati ng such integrated circuit that it contains an 
unlawful topography.  It is imperative in such cases that the stored quantities or quantities on order shall be disposed of, together with fair  compensation to the owner of the topography." 
 
42. Please state the term of protection granted by your legislation to topographies . 
The term is 10 years commencing on the date of  making an application to the registration 
office at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce or from the date of the first commercial exploitation anywhere in the world. 
H. P
ROTECTION OF UNDISCLOSED INFORMATION  
43. Please explain whether or not your legislatio n grants a defined period of time for the 
protection of undisclosed information.  If so, please give the time span. 
Law No. 5 of 2005 does not have a definite peri od of time for the protection of undisclosed 
information. 
44. Please explain how your legislation defines "undisclosed information". 
Article 1 of the Law defines undisclosed information as follows: 
" •   Information read all together or the specific layout and collection of its contents, 
which is not ordinarily known or may not be easily  attainable by any person dealing with such 
type of information; 
 
   •  Information which derives its commercial va lue in the fact that it is undisclosed; or  
 
   •   Information which derives its secrecy from the measures implemented by its owner to 
protect it." 
 
45. Please explain how your legislation defi nes data submitted to governments or 
governmental agencies. 
Article 5 of the Law states as follows: "The protection which the provision of this law determined shall comprise the trade secret 
which has been obtained as a result of secret examination or unknown particulars and if the competent government bodies stipulated submission of detailed information thereof to sanction marketing of medicine or agriculture chemical products which use new chemical  IP/Q/QAT/1/Add.1, IP/Q2/QAT/1/Add.1,  
 IP/Q3/QAT/1/Add.1, IP/Q4/QAT/1/Add.1  Page 3 
 
 
 material, these bodies shall be committed to protect these particulars from unauthorized 
exploitation thereof, from the date of submissi on thereof and until such time its secret nature 
lapses.  Performance of examination by co mpetent government authorities, which public 
protection necessitates calling for, or performing the necessary procedures to ensure no 
unauthorized exploitation of such particular s or information shall not be considered 
aggression/transgression against rights of trade secret ownership." 
 
II. RESPONSE TO A QUESTION POSED BY JAPAN 
C
OPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS  
Please explain exceptions or exemptions of  the national treatment and most-favoured-
nation treatment under the Copyright and Neighbour ing Rights Law, if any, as permitted in 
Articles 3 and 4 of the TRIPS Agreement. 
No exception or exemptions of the national treatment and most-favoured-nation treatment is 
stated in the Copyright Law No. 7 of 2002. 
 
 
III. RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS POSED BY SWITZERLAND 
C. PATENTS  
6. Does your legislation provide for the principle of the reversal of burden of proof in a 
process patent litigation?  Please cite the relevant provisions of law. 
 Qatar does not have national patent law. 
D. PROTECTION OF UNDISCLOSED INFORMATION  
7. Please explain in detail if your legislation ensures that undisclosed test or other data 
submitted by an applicant to the responsible State agency in the procedure for market authorisation of a pharmaceutical or of an agr icultural chemical product is protected against 
disclosure and against unfair commercial use by a competitor, for example by prohibiting a 
second applicant from relying on, or from referring to the original data of the first applicant, 
when applying subsequently for market auth orisation for a similar product.  Does your 
legislation provide for exceptions to this?  If yes, under what conditions would such exceptions 
apply?  Does your legislation set a specific term of  protection for undisclosed test or other data 
of the first applicant? 
  Article 5 provides for protection of undisclosed t est or other data agai nst disclosure and unfair 
commercial use by third parties.  However, measures taken by the responsible state agency to protect 
public safety or to prohibit the unfair commercial use thereof are not considered unlawful.  No 
exceptions are provided for applications file d subsequently to the first applicant. 
 Law No. 5 of 2005 does not have a definite period of time for the protection of disclosed 
information. IP/Q/QAT/1/Add.1, IP/Q2/QAT/1/Add.1,  
IP/Q3/QAT/1/Add.1, IP/Q4/QAT/1/Add.1 Page 4 
 
 
 E. E
NFORCEMENT  
Follow-up to question 8:  
 
 In your answer you mention remedies provided by your legislation, which constitute 
effective deterrents to infringements of intellectual property rights for trademarks and 
copyrights.  Please indicate the remedies provided by your law for the other fields of intellectual 
property rights. 
 
 The relevant laws stipulate punishment for infringing on all types of intellectual property 
rights.  For example: 
 1. In relation to integrated circuits, the re levant law stipulates imprisonment for a period 
not exceeding one year and a fine not exceeding QR50,0 00, or either of those punishments, as well as 
the confiscation of the copied designs. 
 2. In relation to undisclosed information, th e relevant laws stipulate imprisonment for a 
period not exceeding one year and a fine not exceed ing QR50,000, or either of those punishments. 
  
IV. RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS POSED BY THE UNITED STATES
2 
G. LAYOUT -DESIGNS (TOPOGRAPHIES ) OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS . 
24. Please describe how Qatar implements the ob ligations of Section 6, Part II of the TRIPS 
Agreement and cite to the relevant provisions of law. 
 Please see responses to questions 39-42  from the European Communities. 
 H. U
NDISCLOSED INFORMATION . 
25. Paragraph 2 of Article 39 of the TRIPS Agreement requires Members to provide 
protection for all undisclosed information, in cluding technical know-how and commercial 
information, which meets certain criteria. This pr otection must endure as long as the conditions 
identified in paragraph 2 of Article 39 are met and protection cannot be conditioned on 
registration.  Please explain how Qatar fulfils th is obligation and cite to the relevant provisions 
of law. 
Information relating to technical know-how a nd commercial information are included in the 
definition of undisclosed information.  Article 1 of the law defines undisclosed information as 
follows: 
 
"•   Information read all together or the specific layout and collection of its contents, 
which is not ordinarily known or may not be easily  attainable by any person dealing with such 
type of information;  
•  Information which derives its commercial va lue in the fact that it is undisclosed; or  
 
                                                     
 
2 The responses to questions 37 and 38 replace th e responses to the same questions which were 
circulated in document IP/Q/QAT/1, IP/Q2/QAT/1, IP/Q3/QAT/1, IP/Q4/QAT/1.  IP/Q/QAT/1/Add.1, IP/Q2/QAT/1/Add.1,  
 IP/Q3/QAT/1/Add.1, IP/Q4/QAT/1/Add.1  Page 5 
 
 
 •   Information which derives its secrecy from the measures implemented by its owner to 
protect it." 
 
 Registration is not a requirement under Qatari Law so as to enjoy protection. 
 
26. What measures, as required by Article 42 of the TRIPS Agreement, are taken by 
judicial authorities in Qatar to protect the conf identiality of undisclosed information furnished 
by a party during legal proceedings to enforce righ ts in such information, or for other purposes. 
Article 6 of the undisclosed information law states as follows: 
 
"Any party who is lawfully in possession of undi sclosed information shall have an obligation 
to take reasonable measures to protect such information and to prevent third parties from 
using them.  Such a party shall also be oblig ated to organize its circulation inside the 
organization using it and shall limit its access to those obligated to maintain their 
confidentiality and to prevent leakage to third par ties.  Legal liability of such lawful holder of 
information shall not be waived in case of infri ngement by third parties, unless such party can 
show that it took reasonable and sufficient efforts to protect the information." 
 
27. Paragraph 3 of Article 39 of the TRIPS Agreement requires that Members protect 
certain test data associated with requests to obtain approval to market pharmaceutical and 
agricultural chemical products from disclosure and from "unfair commercial use".  Please 
describe in detail how Qatar implements this obligation, and in particular, please explain 
procedures if any that the Ministry of Health and Population and the Ministry of Agriculture have implemented to give practical effect to this obligation. 
  Please note that the Qatari law no. 5 of trade secrets became effective on 2 March 2005:  
according to Articles 4 and 5 of said law "[t]he Qatari authorities shall ensure that maximum 
protection is given to the data against unfair commercial use when th ese authorities require, as a 
condition of approving the marketi ng of pharmaceutical or of agricultural chemical products which 
utilize new chemical entities, the submission of undi sclosed test or other data."  However, the 
regulations implementing said law have not been issued yet. 
I. E
NFORCEMENT  
37. Please provide statistical information related  to civil copyright, trademark, geographical 
indication, industrial design, patent, integrated circuit layout-design, and trade secret enforcement for each of the years 1998 and 1999, including the number of cases filed;  
injunctions issued;  infringing products seized;  infringing equipment seized;  cases resolved 
(including settlement);  and th e amount of damages awarded. 
 There were three cases filed in respect of trademarks during the years of 1998-1999.  
Regarding copyright and other IPRs there were no cases at all. IP/Q/QAT/1/Add.1, IP/Q2/QAT/1/Add.1,  
IP/Q3/QAT/1/Add.1, IP/Q4/QAT/1/Add.1 Page 6 
 
 
 38. Please provide statistical information relat ed to criminal enforcement in the area of 
copyright piracy and trademark infringement for each of the years 1998 and 1999, including the number of raids, prosecutions, co nvictions, and the amount of fi nes and/or jail terms (including 
whether the fines were paid and whether the jail term was actually served of was actually 
served or was suspended) and any other inform ation establishing that the criminal system 
operates effectively to deter copyrigh t piracy and trademark counterfeiting. 
 In the field of copyright there were 10 raids which were solved amicably.  In the field of 
trademarks, there were cases settled between th e two parties through the trademark office. 
 
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