Article 103

After receiving the application, the Registration Authority shall record the filing date on it and, within at most three months from the date of receipt of the application, shall examine it for compliance with the conditions prescribed in this Act and for conformity of the declared class or classes with the latest edition of the international classification, and shall notify the applicant of the result. Where the application is refused, the matter may be appealed before the Board under Article (23) of this Act. Where the application is accepted, the Registration Authority shall publish the contents of the application for the public within at most one week. After public publication of the application, any interested party may, referred to in Articles (29) to (31) of this Act, file with the Registration Authority, within at most one month from the date of publication, his objection alleging non-compliance with the provisions of Articles (95) and (96) of this Act.

Note — The Registration Authority is obliged, within six months from the date this Act enters into force, to design and implement a trademark search engine based on image processing, capable of producing reports on the degree of similarity between registered marks and applied-for marks, to use the results of the search engine for approval of applications, and to establish public access to the said system for searching refused applications.