A new law to protect trademarks was passed by the Bahrain parliament.

The law, proposed by the Shura Council in 2007, means international and local trademarks are not used on other products.

Any misuse of trademarks will be punished with fines of up to BD1,000 ($2,652). Repeating the offence carries double the fine and a possible jail sentence of up to six months.

Meanwhile, parliament approved a Royal Decree that will give GCC nationals in Bahrain equal treatment to their Bahraini counterparts in government jobs.

Both bills will now be referred to the Shura Council for revision and study.-TradeArabia News Service