Industrial Design in Lebanon
A Q&A Guide
This comprehensive FAQ guide aims to answer your most pressing questions about the Lebanese industrial design system.
Whether you're an inventor, designer, or business owner, understanding these key aspects will empower you to effectively safeguard your designs and enforce your exclusive rights.
General Overview & Legal Framework
An industrial design refers to the ornamental or aesthetic aspects of an article, including:
- Three-dimensional features (shape, configuration)
- Two-dimensional features (patterns, lines, colors, ornamentation)
- Any combination that gives a product distinctive appearance and can be reproduced by industrial means
Industrial
designs in Lebanon are primarily governed by Resolution No. 2385/24 of January
17, 1924, on Commercial and Industrial Property Rights, along with its
implementing regulations and subsequent amendments. Lebanon is also a member of
the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The
Intellectual Property Protection Office (IPPO), operating under the Ministry of
Economy and Trade, is the competent authority for registering industrial
designs in Lebanon.
Yes, Lebanon is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Lebanon is NOT a member of the Hague Agreement, and national filing is required.
Industrial designs can protect any manufactured article with aesthetic features, including |
- Furniture and household goods
- Textiles and fashion items
- Electronic devices and packaging
- Jewelry and decorative items
- Any industrial commodity or handicraft with a distinctive appearance
Registrability
Requirements
The design must be new, have individual character, not be contrary to public order or morality, and must be capable of industrial application.
A design is novel if no identical design has been made available to the public before the filing date or priority date of the application.
A design has individual character if the overall impression it produces on the informed user differs from that of any design made available to the public before the filing date.
No, features that are solely dictated by technical function cannot be protected. The design must have aesthetic or ornamental aspects beyond mere functionality.
Yes,
partial designs covering only specific elements or parts of a product can be
protected if they meet the registration requirements. Applicants may also
request partial publication of design embodiments.
- Designs contrary to public order or morality
- Features dictated solely by technical function
- Interconnection features necessary for mechanical connection
- Government symbols, flags, currencies, and official emblems
- International organization symbols
Application
Process
Any individual or legal entity, whether Lebanese or foreign, can apply for an industrial design application in Lebanon. Foreign applicants must appoint a local agent (a lawyer or firm) in Lebanon to handle the application. Lebanese nationals may file directly.
Representations must clearly show the design through drawings, photographs, or other graphic means. They should be of sufficient quality to reproduce the design accurately. It's advisable to provide multiple views (e.g., front, back, side, top, bottom, and perspective views) to show the design's features clearly.
Yes, a detailed description identifying the product and explaining the design features is required, though it should not limit the scope of protection.
Yes, if color is specifically claimed as part of the design. Otherwise, protection extends to the design regardless of color.
Lebanon allows multiple designs in one application if they belong to the same class of the International Classification for Industrial Designs (Locarno Classification), or relate to the same set or ensemble of articles.
Lebanon does not officially use the international Locarno Classification system for industrial designs.
Applications can be filed in Arabic, French, or English.
Examination
and Registration
No, Lebanon conducts a formal examination to ensure compliance with filing requirements but does not perform a substantive examination for novelty or individual character. It is a "deposit-only" system.
The registration process can be relatively quick, sometimes as fast as one month, with the examination decision taking about 15 days and certificate issuance another 15 days.
Lebanon does not have a formal opposition procedure for industrial design applications during the registration process. However, third parties can initiate an annulment action through the competent courts within 5 years post-publication if the design did not meet the novelty or individual character requirements.
Protection begins from the filing date of the application.
Registered designs are published in the Industrial Property Gazette after granting.
The Lebanese law allows for "secret filing" where the design details are kept confidential for a certain period before publication.
Rights and Protection
The exclusive right to:
- Use the design commercially
- Prevent unauthorized making, offering, marketing, importing, exporting
- Control the stocking of products embodying the design
- License or assign the rights
Yes, industrial design rights can be:
- Assigned (ownership transfer)
- Licensed (use authorization)
- Inherited
- Transferred in bankruptcy proceedings
- Initial term: 25 years from filing date
- Renewable once: For an additional 25 years
- Maximum protection: 50 years total
- No annual fees during the protection period
- No requirement to use the design to maintain registration
- Renewal fee due before expiration of initial 25-year term
Yes, a late renewal is typically available within a six-month grace period, subject to a surcharge.
No, the use of the industrial design is not a requirement to maintain its registration in Lebanon. They do not require exploitation; no compulsory licensing.
Yes, unregistered designs are covered by Lebanese Copyright Law, provided they meet the same novelty and originality requirements.
International Aspects
Yes, priority can be claimed from applications filed in Paris Convention countries within 6 months of the first filing.
Foreign
design rights are not automatically recognized. Protection in Lebanon requires
registration through the Lebanese system.
Lebanese
design rights are territorial and can only be enforced within Lebanon.
International protection requires separate applications or international
registration systems.
Infringement and Enforcement
Infringement occurs when someone uses a design that produces the same overall impression on an informed user as the registered design, without authorization. This includes manufacturing, importing, selling, or offering for sale products bearing the infringing design that are a copy, or substantially a copy, of the protected design.
Remedies include injunctive relief, damages, destruction of infringing products, seizure of infringing goods, publication of court decisions, and criminal penalties in some cases.
Commercial courts and courts of first instance have jurisdiction over industrial design disputes, depending on the nature and value of the claim. Judges may appoint technical experts to assist in assessing infringement.
Yes, willful infringement can result in criminal penalties including fines and imprisonment under certain circumstances.
Yes, a registered industrial design can be subject to a cancellation action through the competent courts, for example, if it did not meet the novelty or individual character requirements at the time of registration.
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