Trademark Registration in Jordan

Trademark Registration in Jordan: The Full Filing Route, Stage by Stage

Jordan runs a first to file trademark system administered by the Industrial Property Protection Directorate at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply. You file one class per application under the Nice Classification, the Directorate examines the mark, accepted marks are published in the Official Gazette for a three month opposition window, and registration runs for ten years from the filing date and is renewable without limit.

One point decides your whole strategy: Jordan is not a member of the Madrid Protocol. An international registration cannot be extended to Jordan. A direct national filing through a locally licensed agent is the only way in.

Which Authority Registers Trademarks in Jordan?

Trademark applications are handled by the Industrial Property Protection Directorate, which sits inside the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply in Amman. The same Directorate maintains the register, issues registration certificates, publishes accepted marks in the Official Gazette and rules on oppositions at first instance.

Do not confuse these two registrations

A trade name registered with the Companies Control Department lets you operate under a name. It does not give you exclusive rights over a brand across goods and services. Only a trademark registration at the Industrial Property Protection Directorate does that. Businesses that stop at the trade name discover the gap only when a competitor files the same brand as a trademark.

Which Law Governs Trademarks in Jordan?

The core statute is the Trademarks Law No. 33 of 1952 as amended, most significantly by the amendments of 1999, which introduced service marks and aligned Jordan with TRIPS, and the further amendments of 2007. Supporting protection comes from the Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets Law and from border measures under the customs framework.

Jordan is a WTO member bound by TRIPS, a party to the Paris Convention, and applies the Nice Classification. Commitments under the Jordan United States free trade agreement and the association agreement with the European Union pushed Jordanian brand protection standards above the regional baseline, which is one reason enforcement here is taken seriously.

Can You Use the Madrid Protocol to Cover Jordan?

No. Jordan has not acceded to the Madrid Protocol, so designating Jordan through WIPO is not possible. If your regional rollout relies on an international registration, Jordan has to be carved out and filed directly. Plan this early, because teams that assume Madrid coverage often find the gap months later, by which point a local party may already hold the filing date.

Who Can Apply, and Is a Local Agent Mandatory?

Any natural person or legal entity may apply, Jordanian or foreign. Applicants from Paris Convention and WTO member states receive national treatment and may claim priority from an earlier foreign filing made within the previous six months.

• Applicants without a place of business in Jordan must act through a licensed local trademark agent.
• A Power of Attorney in favour of that agent is required, signed by an authorised signatory and legalised through the customary chain up to the Jordanian diplomatic mission.
• The Power of Attorney can usually follow shortly after filing, so the application can be lodged first to secure the filing date. Confirm the current deadline with your agent before you rely on it.

What Can and Cannot Be Registered as a Trademark in Jordan?

Marks that cannot be represented visually, such as sounds and scents, are not accepted in practice. Distinctiveness is judged on the Jordanian market, so a term that is weak in English may still be registrable if it carries no meaning for local consumers, and the reverse is equally true for Arabic wording.

How Does Classification Work, and Can You File Multiple Classes Together?

Jordan applies the Nice Classification but does not allow multi class applications. Each class needs its own application, its own set of fees and its own registration certificate. Three classes means three files running in parallel.

Expert tip: file the Arabic version too

A Latin script mark does not automatically protect the Arabic transliteration that your customers actually read, speak and search for. Filing the Arabic script version as a separate mark is the single highest value addition to a Jordanian portfolio, and it closes the most common route used by copycats

How Long Does Trademark Registration in Jordan Take?

A clean, unopposed application typically completes in roughly nine to fifteen months. Objections or opposition add time, and a contested matter that reaches the courts runs considerably longer. Treat every timeline as indicative, since examination backlogs move.

What Documents Are Required to File in Jordan?

1. Full legal name, address, nationality and legal form of the applicant.
2. A clear electronic representation of the mark, with a colour claim if colour is part of the right you want.
3. The list of goods or services with the Nice class, drafted against accepted terminology.
4. A legalised Power of Attorney in favour of the local agent.
5. A certified copy of the priority application with translation, if priority is claimed within six months.
6. Commercial registration extract for corporate applicants, where requested.
7. Transliteration and translation of any element that is not in Arabic or Latin script.

How Much Does Trademark Registration in Jordan Cost?

Official fees are set by the Ministry and revised periodically, so budget by component rather than by a headline number, and confirm the current schedule before you commit.

The practical lesson is that the cheapest file is the one that never meets an objection. Money spent on a proper search and a well drafted specification is almost always less than the cost of defending a weak application.

What Happens If Someone Opposes Your Trademark?

Any interested party may file an opposition within three months of publication in the Official Gazette, setting out the grounds. You respond with a counter statement and supporting evidence, both sides may exchange further material, and the Registrar decides. The Registrar decision can be appealed to the competent court within the statutory period.

• Common grounds: prior identical or similar rights, bad faith filing, descriptiveness, and reputation of an unregistered but well known mark.
• Strong evidence: dated invoices, packaging, advertising spend, distribution agreements, Jordanian sales data and earlier registrations elsewhere.
• Many oppositions settle through coexistence agreements or a narrowed specification, which is usually faster and cheaper than fighting to a decision.

How Long Is a Jordanian Trademark Valid, and When Do You Renew?

Protection runs for ten years from the filing date, not from the registration date, and renews for successive ten year terms with no ceiling. File the renewal before expiry. A late renewal within the statutory grace period is possible but attracts a surcharge, and letting a mark lapse entirely reopens the register to whoever files next.

Can a Jordanian Trademark Be Cancelled for Non Use?

Yes. An interested party can seek cancellation where a registered mark has not been genuinely used in Jordan for a continuous period of three years. This is a shorter window than several neighbouring jurisdictions allow, which makes defensive registrations riskier here.

Build a use file from day one

Keep dated Jordanian invoices, product photographs showing the mark as registered, shipping documents, distributor contracts, advertising and campaign records, and screenshots of local promotion. Rebuilding three years of evidence under a cancellation deadline is painful and frequently impossible.

How Are Well Known Marks Protected in Jordan?

Jordan gives effect to Article 6 bis of the Paris Convention. A mark that is well known in Jordan can be protected, and a conflicting application can be refused or cancelled, even where the owner has no Jordanian registration. The catch is evidential: you must prove reputation among the relevant Jordanian public through sales, advertising, media coverage and registrations in other markets. That is a long, expensive route compared with filing on time, so treat it as a remedy rather than a strategy.

How Do You Enforce a Trademark in Jordan?

Which Mistakes Cost Jordanian Applicants the Most?

• Assuming a Madrid international registration covers Jordan. It does not.
• Registering the trade name only and believing the brand is protected.
• Filing the Latin script mark and skipping the Arabic version.
• Skipping the clearance search, then paying for an avoidable opposition.
• Drafting a vague specification that draws an examination objection.
• Missing the six month priority window after a home country filing.
• Filing in one class when the business already sells across three.
• Ignoring the Official Gazette, so a conflicting mark passes unopposed.
• Keeping no use evidence, then losing the mark to a non use cancellation.

Myths and Facts About Trademarks in Jordan

How Does Jordan Compare With the UAE and Saudi Arabia?

For a MENA rollout, the practical sequence is to use the international route where it works, then run Jordan, and any other non Madrid market, as direct national filings on the same timetable so no gap opens between launch and protection.

Protect you brand in Jordan

Book a consultation with our trademark team for Jordan  a  clearance search and class strategy, backed by more than 15 years of experience and authorised representative status. info@legacypartners.global