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Trademarks
and Intellectual Property Rights In Lebanon
Lebanon's
first intellectual property rights law dates
back to 1924.
A recent law of 1999 under the number of 75/99 regulates today the
intellectual property rights matter.
Lebanon signed several international
agreements and treaties concerning intellectual property
rights and therefore protects the
intellectual property rights to the highest level.
What are the
intellectual properties right? and how can they be protected?
1-Trademarks
2-Patents
3-Copyrights
Trademarks
A trademark is a denomination, name, label, design and in general
any distinctive sign to distinguish a certain product from others
such as a commercial, industrial or any kind of products.
Registration of a trademark can be operated by any person or
corporate bodies, and there is no difference between national and
foreign requestor.
Foreigners, however, are required to appoint a local agent to
represent them and to proceed with all registration
formalities and to receive the registration certificate .
The registration of a trademark is valid for 15 years renewable
for an additional period of 15 years.
How a
Trademark can be protected?
1)The trademark is in principle protected via registration at the
Office of
Intellectual Property in the ministry of economy.
The registration opens path to
to
initiate criminal action against any person who
infringes on a registered trademark.
2)The Office of Intellectual Property in the ministry of economy,
when registering a trademark
checks its contents and makes sure that it is generic and may not
lead to confusion with an existing registered trademark.
Opposition may be constituted in a certain delay, and there is a
possibility as well to initiate a proceeding before the competent
courts on the basis of unfair competition.
Lebanese Customs can be of help as well in trademark protection by
examining the origin of the imported products.
Communication between Lebanese customs and the intellectual
property office are helpful in detecting any infringement to any
registered trademark.
Infringement in trademarks issue is considered by the courts to
take place when it leads to a confusion in the spirit of the
consumer and thus, he is mislead by the infringer trademark.
Trademarks can be nominative or a logo/design and they are
registered and protected under diversified categories.
Needless to say that trademarks can be protected in more than one
class.
Patents
On August 7, 2000 Lebanon's parliament
enacted a law to protect patents.
Based on the law and international conventions an invention can be
considered as a patent under these conditions:
1- to have a new and not an existing invention
2-to be inventive
3-To be of use in industry
Who owns the
patent?
The inventor is the person owning the rights for the patent.
If more than one person participated in one invention, the
right for the patent shall be split equally
between these persons unless otherwise provided in a
separate agreement.
In the event that many persons independently produce the same
invention, the right for the patent shall be for the first
applicant.
What are The
conditions for obtaining a patent?
A request to the ministry of economy and trade should be presented
and shoud include the following:
1) description of the invention provided that the invention is not
contrary to public policy or morals.
2)the seriousness and novelty in the items for which the
protection is requested.
The decision taken by the minister can be appealed before the
Court of Appeal of Beirut.
The office of intellectual property have 60 days from the
Minister’s
decision to issue the patent.
What is the
duration of the patent?
The initial term of a patent is 20 years.
What Happens in
case of Violations?
The penalties can have a criminal aspect which shows the importance of
protected patents.
Copyrights
A new and modern Copyright Law was enacted on April 3, 1999, by
the Lebanese parliament and entered into force on June 6,
1999.
The copyright protection covers a large scope of works.
Originally covering literary and artistic works, it is
now extended to computer software, videos and a large
variety of works.
In case of violation of copyrighted works, penalties of criminal
aspects and civil compensations to the offended party shows
to what extent the copyright is protected by this law.
Contact
Mattar law firm
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