The Libyan Trade Mark Office resumed accepting new trade mark applications on 2 September 2024. The office had suspended its operations since November 2022, leaving many rights owners unable to file applications during the suspension. Alongside the resumption of operations, Libya has updated certain trade mark filing requirements.

The following documents must accompany trade mark applications:

• One original PoA covering Libya only, signed by an authorized signatory, executed before a notary, and legalised at the Libyan embassy in the applicant’s country of origin; and

• One original certified company registration document (certificate of incorporation, certificate of good standing and similar) legalised by the Libyan embassy in the applicant’s country of origin and accompanied by an Arabic translation.

Documents legalised abroad will need additional local attestation by the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Collaboration to confirm the authenticity of embassy legalisations.

Both the PoA and the company registration document have a validity period of one year only. As a result, the applicants were required to provide freshly legalised versions of both documents annually to maintain their trade mark registrations. The Libyan Trade Mark Office has now retracted its previous decision mandating the annual submission of PoAs, but the requirement remains in place for the company registration certificates.

Late submission of supporting documents is permitted only if priority is claimed. In such instances, the original legalised documents must be submitted within 40 days after the application filing date.

Ad-hoc descriptions of goods and services are no longer acceptable. Applicants now have the option to either adopt the class heading or specify items of their choice.