HIGHLIGHTS
Significant Changes to Trade Mark Renewal Fees and Requirements in Libya
Libya has introduced notable updates to its trade mark renewal fees and requirements under Decree 586 of 2024, issued on 27 November 2024, impacting both foreign and domestic companies. These changes include an increase in official fees as well as additional procedural complexities, creating challenges for trade mark owners operating in the country.
Increased Fees for Foreign Entities
For foreign trade mark holders, the renewal fee has been set at USD 2,000 per year (*).
New Requirements for National Companies
For Libyan companies, renewal fees are now calculated as 5% of the trade mark’s assessed value, as reflected in the company’s latest audited balance sheet.
Withdrawal of Notices and Appeals Reassessment
In addition to fee adjustments, a critical decision has been made regarding trade mark applications filed in 2024:
- All acceptance notices issued during the Trade Mark Office closure period (2 April 2024 to 1 September 2024) have been withdrawn.
- Appeals for trade mark applications refused due to being identical or confusingly similar to marks filed during the closure period have now been accepted.
We advise our clients with affected filings in Libya to get in touch with our renewals department to obtain tailored guidance on their portfolios.
(*) It is important to monitor updates on the situation as we understand various stakeholders are involved.
By: Sara Omran
Iraq Implements 11th Edition of Nice Classification
The Iraqi Trade Mark Office (TMO) has recently announced that it officially transitioned from the 7th to the 11th edition of the Nice International Classification of Goods and Services on 14 January 2025. According to the announcement, IP owners in Iraq now have the opportunity to reclassify their registered trade marks to conform to the 11th edition.
At this stage, there will be no immediate changes to official fees. However, the TMO plans to align the existing fee structure with the Nice Classification framework by substituting the previous local subclass system with the corresponding class heading system from the Nice framework. As a result, fee calculation will depend on the number of class headings, potentially impacting the overall cost for applicants.
This transition aims to enhance consistency and clarity in the trade mark classification process while aligning Iraq’s intellectual property framework with international standards and practices.
By: Sara Omran
Source: WIPO website
REGIONAL UPDATES
Central Asia
Georgia: IPO Invites Trade Mark Owners to Amend Lists of Goods and Services, Official Fees Lifted until 7 March, 2025
Georgia’s trade mark law amendments, which entered into force on 8 March 2024,
introduced the literal interpretation of class headings and other individual broad or general terms or indications, and invited trade mark owners to update the lists of goods and services in their applications and registrations, within five years of the amendments’ entry into force – by 7 March 2029.
During the five-year period, if requests are made to transfer rights, register licenses, renew trade mark registrations, or record changes, the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia (Sakpatenti) will ask the owners to clarify and amend their trade mark specifications to comply with the new requirements.
The official fee for filing the amendments is approximately EUR 60. However, as an incentive for early revisions, no fees will be charged for updates requested before 7 March 2025.
Adoption of literal interpretation of class headings represents a step toward in harmonizing Georgian trade mark law with the EU regulations, eliminating ambiguity related to trade mark specifications and enhancing transparency and precision in the trade mark registration process.
Under the amendments, if a trade mark specification includes broad or general terms or class headings consisting of such terms, it will be considered that they no longer cover all goods and services within a claimed class. Instead, such terms will be interpreted in their literal sense, referring only to the specific goods or services mentioned, which may limit the scope of trade mark protection.
By: Igor Alfiorov
Eastern Europe
Montenegro Amends Copyright Law
Montenegro's recent copyright law amendments, which entered into force on 24 October 2024, aim to harmonize local legislation with two key EU directives, the EU Directive 2019/789 and the EU Directive 2019/790, and represent a significant step toward enhancing copyright protection in the digital environment.
Text and Data Mining: Exception from Copyright Protection
“Text and data mining” generally refers to the computer-based analysis of large bodies of data to gain information and insights into the content being mined. This has become a prominent tool for processing and analyzing data in scientific and research fields and can generate significant value to the user in various commercial fields.
The amendments include new provisions related to text and data mining, allowing research organizations and cultural heritage institutions to reproduce protected work for scientific purposes without obtaining a copyright permission and without paying a fee. This exception also applies to individuals involved in text and data mining unless the copyright holder has expressly reserved all rights.
Additionally, a new software copyright exception in connection with text and data mining has been introduced, allowing anyone with lawful access to protected work to reproduce, translate, adapt, or modify software in part or in whole.
Online Content-Sharing Service Providers’ Obligations
Online content-sharing service providers are information society service providers who, for profit, store, give the public access to, organise, and promote a large amount of copyrighted works or other protected subject-matter uploaded by its users.
Under the amendments, online content-sharing service providers, such as social media or music- or movie-sharing platforms, must obtain authorisation from rights holders before sharing or making the protected content available to the public. Content-sharing service providers will be considered liable for unauthorised content sharing unless the use of the copyright-protected work without paying a license fee is allowed for the purpose of caricature, parody and pastiche. This exception applies to both online and offline user-generated content shared on the online content-sharing service provider.
Press Publishers’ Rights
Press publishers now have the right to authorize or prohibit information society service providers, such as news aggregator websites or search engines, from making available online or reproducing the protected publishers’ work for two years following the publication. The press publisher’s right does not apply to the private or non-commercial use of press publications by individual users, hyperlinking, and the use of individual words or short extracts from press publications.
New Collective Licensing Mechanism
The collective licensing mechanism with an extended effect has been introduced, where the agreement between the collective management organisation (CMO) and a service provider applies both to copyright owners who have authorised the CMO to represent them and the rights holders who have given no such authorisation. In other words, CMOs can now represent rights holders who are not members of the relevant CMO and who have not expressly agreed to allow their works to be included in the CMO.
Right of Revocation
A revocation right can be exercised if copyrighted work is not adequately exploited, namely, the authors and performers have the right to revoke the license or the transfer of exclusive rights on the protected work, or terminate the exclusivity of the contract. The rationale for including this provision is that authors and performers should be allowed to seek other avenues for exploiting their work if a significant amount of time has lapsed without exploitation.
Retransmissions other than Cable
The Copyright Law already included a provision on the right to cable retransmission. An amendment now introduces retransmissions other than cable, the authorisation for which may be granted or refused by the copyright holders.
The amendments also introduce transmission through “direct injection”. Direct injection is defined as a technical process in which the broadcasting organisation transmits its program-carrying signals to a signal distributor in such a way that during the transmission the signals are not available to the public, and then the signal distributor communicates those signals subsequently to the public. Under the amendments, the broadcasting organisation and the signal distributor participate in a single act of communication to the public in respect of which they must obtain authorisation from rights holders, who have the exclusive right to allow or prohibit the use of their work necessary for the implementation of the direct injection.
Rights holders may exercise their right to grant or refuse the authorisation for the retransmission and direct injection only through the collective management organisation.
By: Jelena Radevic, Mladen Colovic
Middle East
Yemen: IPO in Sanaa Removes Limitation to Number of Goods and Services
The IPO based in Sanaa, Yemen has introduced a major update to its trade mark application policy, as outlined in Ministerial Decision No. 52/2024. The change eliminates the previous cap of 10 goods or services per application, allowing applicants to designate an unlimited number of items within a single filing. This reform reflects global trends to simplify and modernize trade mark registration processes.
While the prior restriction has been removed, any goods or services listed beyond the first 10 will be subject to additional publication fees, calculated at a rate of 5% of the standard publication fee for each additional item. This approach balances the flexibility of an unlimited number of items with the administrative costs of processing and publishing extended lists.
While Yemen has two IPOs, one operating in Sanaa and the other in Aden, each with its own jurisdiction and procedures, both offices have recently adopted the 12th edition of the Nice Classification of Goods and Services and are operating under a single-class protection principle.
By way of background, starting 22 October 2024, both offices raised the number of goods/services covered in a single trade mark application from 4 goods/services to 10. The Aden IPO still adheres to this policy, while the Sanaa IPO has now removed this prior 10 item restriction.
On 7 October 2024, the IPO in Sanaa introduced an online platform where users can access a range of trade mark services, including the filing and recordal of amendments, waivers, objections and responses. Deadlines for all procedures handled through the platform are now automatically calculated by the system, providing greater accuracy and reducing administrative burden. The Official Trade Mark Gazette is now exclusively available digitally on this platform.
By: Sara Omran
Saudi Arabia Joins the Hague System
On 7 January 2025, Saudi Arabia deposited its instrument of accession to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This latest accession brings the total number of countries covered by the Hague System to 99.
On 7 April 2025, when the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement enters into force in Saudi Arabia, designers or business owners in Saudi Arabia will be able to seek protection in any of the 99 countries covered by the Hague System, by filing just one international application. In parallel, non-residents seeking design protection in Saudi Arabia will be able to designate the newest contracting state in their international applications.
By: Sara Omran
Source: WIPO website
SAIP and ZATCA Sign Cooperation Agreement to Boost Trade Mark Enforcement
The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) and Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority (ZATCA), a government agency under the Ministry of Finance in Saudi Arabia, recently formalized a partnership through a memorandum of cooperation aimed at improving trade mark enforcement across Saudi Arabia’s borders. This strategic initiative is designed to fortify regulatory measures, ensuring that counterfeit goods do not infiltrate the local market.
The key objectives of the partnership include enhanced collaboration on trade mark enforcement at border checkpoints, development and improvement of procedures and mechanisms for detecting and managing trade mark infringement during import, educating consumers about counterfeit products, and finalizing electronic information exchange procedures during market inspection campaigns.
This partnership is expected to align trade mark protection practices in Saudi Arabia with international standards, foster innovation while boosting Saudi Arabia’s economy, promote safer marketplace by reducing counterfeit goods harmful to the environment, and raise consumers’ trust in the quality and authenticity of products available on the market.
By: Sara Omran
Conciliation Service for IP Disputes in Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property and the Ministry of Justice’s Conciliation Center have launched a conciliation service aimed at resolving IP disputes without the involvement of courts. This alternative dispute resolution initiative aligns with the government program Saudi Vision 2030 and provides a faster and more cost-effective mechanism for rights holders.
The key features include:
- Confidential treatment of all conciliation applications;
- Disputes resolved within 30 days by IP experts;
- Legally recognized and enforceable conciliation agreements; and
- Service delivered through the Taradhi platform enabling easy access for users.
By: Sara Omran
Source: www.moj.gov.sa
ARTICLES
Embracing Change: How Rebrands Keep Iconic Logos Relevant
In today’s fast-paced marketplace, a company’s logo is more than just a symbol – it is a statement of identity. This visual hallmark reflects evolving customer preferences, new product lines and a brand’s ability to stay ahead in a crowded field. Periodically revisiting or reinventing a logo can give a fresh perspective, signaling to loyal customers and newcomers alike that the brand remains forward-thinking.
Why Brands Rebrand
Businesses recognize that consumer tastes shift over time. What resonated a decade ago might seem dated today. A rebrand can appeal to younger demographics, address changing cultural sentiments, or align with emerging digital platforms. For example, when Dunkin’ Donuts shortened its name to “Dunkin”, it aimed to emphasize beverages available on-the-go, underscoring that it isn’t just about donuts anymore.
The Power of Subtlety
Some companies opt for minimal adjustments to their brand’s design rather than sweeping transformations. Starbucks removed the word “Coffee” from its emblem, allowing its signature mermaid to shine. By doing so, it gave itself room to grow beyond its original product focus, expanding into teas, juices, and more. This soft shift kept brand recognition strong while reflecting Starbucks’ broader ambitions.
Back to the Future
Adding a touch of vintage charm to the high-tech design is another option. Honda has revamped its logo for the new line of electric vehicles (EVs) by removing the distinct “H” from the thin square that previously encircled it. The simplified design is reminiscent of the brand's original 1960s logo, with the two outstretched hands symbolizing “Honda's commitment to augment the possibilities of mobility and sincerely serve the needs of the users of Honda EVs”.
Striking a Balance
Consumers are quick to notice new visuals. That can be an advantage, but it also carries risk. Overly dramatic changes sometimes alienate loyal fans who feel attached to the familiar design. In response, brands like Mastercard took a middle path, simplifying shapes and typography while retaining core elements, like the interlocking red and yellow circles, to ensure continuity.
The Broader Trend
From major fast-food chains returning to heritage-inspired logos to tech giants refining their app icons, the motivation remains consistent: stand out in a saturated marketplace, stay modern, and let consumers know the brand is evolving. Strategic redesigns can revitalize public perception and help brands connect with today’s audiences.
Looking Ahead
As consumer expectations keep evolving, rebranding will continue to play a crucial role. Whether the shift is subtle or bold, the key is ensuring that the brand’s essence stays intact, warranting its values, history, and promise to customers. Through thoughtful design, a logo refresh can serve as both a nod to the past and a statement about where the brand is headed. The mystery behind rebranding only highlights how captivating these transformations can be, inviting curiosity and sparking conversation about what comes next.
By: Sara Omran
