A new law (No. 18/2012) for Patents, Utility Model, Layout Design of Integrated Circuits and Undisclosed Information has been issued in Syria. The new law came into force on 1^st June 2012.

The most important features of the law are as follows:

1. Utility Models and Layout Design of Integrated Circuits have been added to the new law.
2. A patent application should not incorporate more than one invention. However, a group of inventions having the same inventive concept will be considered as one application.
3. If a patent application incorporating more than 10 claims, additional fees will be paid on each additional claim.
4. Decisions of the Patent Office are appealable before the Competent Committee within 30 days of the date of notification of applicant of the decision.
5. The term of a patent is twenty years calculated as of filing date.
6. A patent application could be amended within three months as of the filing date, provided that the amendment does not exceed what has been disclosed in the original application.
7. Oppositions can be filed within six months as from the date of publication of the application in the Intellectual Property Protection Gazette and applicant should be notified of opposition within thirty days as of date of receipt of opposition by the Patent Office, applicant or his agent should reply to the opposition within 30 days of date of notification of opposition, otherwise application will be considered abandoned.
8. Annuity fees are payable as of the second year following the filing date of application. In case patent has not been granted within two years as of filing date, applicant has the right to abstain from payment of the said fees until issuance of a decision of grant, after which he could pay accumulated fees.