According to Jehad Ali Hasan, CEO at JAH Intellectual Property in Doha, this means moving away from local categorization methods and adopting a uniform global standard that systematically organizes industrial designs into universally recognized classes. “This harmonization greatly simplifies the filing process for businesses and foreign investors, eliminates administrative ambiguities and provides a predictable, transparent legal environment where creative assets can be cataloged with international consistency. Furthermore, the accession directly strengthens the protection of industrial designs by introducing highly efficient administrative mechanism workflows and robust judicial advantages.”

He added that Bahrain’s adoption of the 15th edition of the Locarno Classification serves as a foundational benefit for businesses, local designers and foreign investors by introducing a highly sophisticated, globally recognized framework for categorizing designs into specific classes and subclasses.

“This modern edition ensures that the core administrative workflows underlying the registration, ongoing administration and prior-art searching of industrial design rights are entirely streamlined and aligned with international best practices. For businesses and independent designers, this means that the initial process of clearing and filing new designs becomes significantly more predictable, as the terminology and structural categories match those utilized by major intellectual property offices worldwide. By minimizing the administrative complexities and legal friction traditionally associated with cross-border filings, this standardized system allows rights holders to scale their design portfolios into Bahrain with greater logistical ease, eliminating the need to adapt to disparate regional filing criteria.”

“Aligning with the Locarno Agreement through Law No. (21) of 2026 is highly expected to stimulate regional innovation and drive a substantial increase in cross-border industrial design filings by seamlessly integrating the Kingdom of Bahrain into the international design protection network,” he said. “By moving toward this globally recognized framework, Bahrain establishes an infrastructure that reflects its ongoing commitment to aligning local practices with international standards. This institutional harmonization significantly lowers the entry barriers for multinational corporations, foreign investors and regional creators who wish to expand their commercial presence into Bahrain. Because the treaty categorizes industrial designs into internationally uniform classes, foreign applicants can file for protection without the administrative burden of modifying their design definitions to fit divergent regional classification systems.” 

“Conversely, the transition period may present minor operational and administrative challenges that rights holders must proactively address to prevent vulnerabilities in their portfolios. The immediate challenge lies in organizational adaptation, as local creators, domestic enterprises and legal practitioners must swiftly adjust their operational workflows to conform to the specific classification criteria of the 15th edition. To effectively mitigate these challenges and maximize the commercial advantages of Bahrain’s updated framework, rights holders will need to rely on tailored legal guidance to systematically align their regional intellectual property strategies with the new statutory classification standards.”

- Excel V. Dyquiangco