The Libyan Trade Mark Office (LTMO) has resumed the process of trade mark searching since April 2013 and will reportedly be accepting new applications for the registration of trade marks this month.
The LTMO ceased its operations in January 2011 due to the revolution.
According to a report from Lexology, there has been some uncertainty with regard to the LTMO’s acceptance of new trade mark applications. According to one firm they had already “successfully filed the first trade mark application in Libya since the revolution” in April this year, while another firm “strongly confirmed” that the LTMO had not yet, and would not be, accepting new trade mark applications before May 2013.
The International Trade Mark Association (INTABulletin of 1 May 2013, Vol. 68 No. 9) has, however, confirmed that the LTMO has resumed its services and is indeed presently accepting trade mark search instructions and will be expected to begin accepting new trade mark applications in May 2013. The article further mentions that all deadlines and priority dates of trade marks which had already been filed and had fallen due within the closure period, would be properly dealt with to ensure that the files at the LTMO were in order.
The requirements for filing new trade mark applications at the LTMO are as follows:
- A signed power of attorney, legalised up to the Libyan Consulate;
- A copy of the applicant company’s Certificate of Incorporation, legalised up to the Libyan Consulate; and
- 10 prints of the trade mark
- A separate trade mark application will be required for each class of goods or services.
- A legalised copy of a foreign registration certificate is no longer a requirement. Unless priority is claimed, in which case, a certified copy of the priority document issued from a member country of the Paris Convention will be required.
(Source: Lexology)
