Libya – Revocation of certain Trade Marks; Amendment to Trade Mark Renewal Fees

Two pieces of news have recently come to light regarding trade mark matters in Libya, which have significant implications for rights holders there. We summarise these developments below.

Firstly, Ministerial Decision No. 2 of 2025 was issued on 15 January 2025, which revoked all trade mark applications filed during the period between 2 April 2024 and 2 September 2024 when operations of the Trade Mark Office were suspended. All acceptance notices issued during the closure period have been withdrawn, and appeals lodged against trade mark applications which were refused due to being identical or confusingly similar to marks filed during the closure period have now been accepted.

Secondly, the official fee for trade mark renewals, for foreign trade mark owners, has been increased to US$2,000 per year for a single trade mark in one class. This development was announced in Resolution No. 586 of 2024 which was issued on 27 November 2024 and was since confirmed in a meeting with Ministry officials on 3 February 2025. Trade mark owners have the option of either paying this renewal fee in annual instalments or in a lump sum payment of US$20,000 for the full 10-year renewal period.

For local 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.

Discussions regarding the implications and practical implementation of these fee changes are still ongoing between major stakeholders and the relevant Libyan ministry officials. We will continue to closely monitor this situation, and will report further updates to this article.

In the meantime, we would be pleased to provide you with further guidance and assistance with your Libyan trade mark portfolio.