LIBYA Law and Practice Contributed by: Salaheddin El Busefi, Heba Gedwar and Mahmud Zahaf, Zahaf & Partners
• interference of any kind to suspend produc - tion, manufacturing or distribution of a prod - uct or service. It is further prohibited for commercial entities to co-operate to achieve a dominant position such as through a merger or acquisition where that action will result in a market position that exceeds 30%. The forming of such economic blocs carries with it serious penalties and it is very important that competition laws are ana - lysed so as to not inadvertently breach such laws when an entity is going through a merger or acquisition. Patent Law in Libya is governed by Law No 8 (1959) on Patents and Industrial Designs, which defines a patent as an exclusive right granted over an invention that satisfies three criteria: • The invention has not been made public or been in circulation in Libya during the 50 years before the application has been made. • The invention subject to a pending patent must have practical use and can be used in any type of industry. • The invention must not be something that could be excluded from being patented such as a scientific discovery or educational theory. 7. Intellectual Property 7.1 Patents As a signatory to the Paris Convention, Libya has a dedicated Patent Protection Office (PPO) under the Ministry of Economy that is respon - sible for processing patent registrations and ensuring that patents under application comply with the law.
A request for patent protection consists of a formal request by the inventor or patent appli - cant, a detailed description of the invention and key parts of the invention for which protection is sought. Once a patent application filed with the PPO is successful, the patent will be valid for a period of 15 years, which can be renewed for a further five years. Once issued, a patent must also be filed in the relevant records of the PPO and published in the local gazette before it can have any effect on third parties. 7.2 Trade Marks A trade mark is characterised as any distinct shape, sign, words, symbols, trade names, seals, engravings or groups of colours that dis - tinguishes its product or service. The Libyan Trade Mark Law offers a trade mark validity of ten years subject to renewal. The process to register a trade mark is made to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) under the Ministry of Economy and Trade. The per - son authorised to make the application must certify the company’s constitutional documents and those that demonstrate its ownership of the trade mark at their nearest Libyan Embassy before submitting to the IPO. After a trade mark is applied for, there is a three-month waiting period during which any interested party may file an opposition notice. It is important to note that once granted, a trade mark has to be actively used as not using it for five consecutive years may cause it to be can - celled by the registration office. Trademark law punishes infringement or unau - thorised use of a registered trademark with penal measures that include both fines and imprison - ment for a period not exceeding two years. A registered trademark holder could therefore
466 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook