Lebanon’s Ministry of Economy and Trade launched a five-year road map that hints at the amendment of the country’s intellectual property laws, amongst 40 other initiatives, aimed at bolstering the activities of small- and medium-sized enterprises. While Lebanon’s copyright and patent laws have been reviewed in recent years, the country’s trade mark laws have not been substantively amended since first enacted 91 years ago in 1924 (notwithstanding 1946 amendments). Lebanon’s trade mark provisions have been under review for a number of years but the Ministry’s announcement suggests that ratification of the amended law can be expected by 2020. This initiative will be a welcome move for businesses and IP practitioners alike, to bring Lebanon’s legal framework for intellectual property in line with the country’s considerable economic development over the last century, and to offer a more robust platform for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.(The Daily Star, 16 December 2014)
